
Class 



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Copyright]^". 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 





HARVESTING CORN 



Farm Crops 

A Practical Treatise on the Growing of American Field 
Crops : Containing Brief and Popular Advice on the Seed- 
ing, Cultivating, Handling and Marketing of Farm Crops, 
and on the Management of Lands for the Largest Returns 



By 

CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT 

Editor of American Agriculturist 




ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

19 10 






Copyright, 1910 

Orange Judd Company 

New York 



Printed in U. S. A. 



IV 



©ClA4l?3430 



I 



PREFACE 

N the aggregate the farmer's annual wealth is 
nearly $9,000,000,000. Last year it was $869,- 
000,000 above that of 1908, $1,159,000,000 above 
^x that of 1907, $1,023,000,000 above that of 1906, 
^"^ $1,469,000,000 above that of 1905, $1,619,000,000 
above that of 1904, $1,861,000,000 above that of 
1903 and $3,061,000,000 above the census year of 
1899. I" a decade the value of farm products has 
doubled. Too frequently national prosperity is 
gauged by the activities of the cities. Extend Broad- 
way across the continent and broaden it until the 
Canadian border is touched and carry the same con- 
struction to the Gulf and in six months if agriculture 
be abandoned, as it necessarily would be, the build- 
ings would be tenantless, the banks would be doing 
no business and just about all the people either 
would be dead or starving. Much of our national 
greatness, therefore, is dependent upon the kind of 
crops raised and upon their average acre yield. 

This book is concerned with the field crops raised 
on American farms. It contains the best ideas 
gathered from various authorities and the experi- 
ence of many practical men in all lines of crop pro- 
duction. The illustrations that accompany the text 
have been selected for their instructional value. All 
of the drawings have been made by Mr. B. F. 
Williamson, to whom grateful appreciation is ex- 
pressed. 

C. W. BURKETT. 

New York, July, 1910. 



Table of Contents 



Page 

Introduction 
Growing Crops Our Greatest Business . . i 

Chapter I 
Good Soils Back of Good Crops ... 4 

Chapter II 
How Rotations Help Out .... 16 

Chapter III 
Getting the Seed Bed Right . , . . 2^ 

Chapter IV 
Crop Yields and Proper Culture ... 35 

Chapter V 
What Crops for Feeding . . . -43 

Chapter VI 
What Forage Crops Are Best ... 54 

Chapter VII 
Growing Crops for Succulence ... 63 

Chapter VIII 
The Silo, Silage and Soiling Crops . . 75 

Chapter IX 
Every Fa mci a Plant Breeder ... 84 

Chapter X 
Farm Crops ...... 95 

vii 



List of IHustrations 











Page 


How Good Drainage Works ... 5 


How Bad Drainage Handicaps 






7 


Increasing Potato Yields 






10 


Fertilizing the Cowpea 








13 


Meadow Fescue and Brome ( 


jrass 






18 


Blue Grass .... 








20 


Meadow Foxtail . 








22 


Peg-Tooth Harrow 








31 


Header and Thresher . 








. 33 


Wheat Harvester 








. 36 


Corn Cultivator . 








. 40 


Two-Row Corn Cultivator 








. 41 


Beggar Weed 








. 44 


Corn Kernels 








. 47 


A Soil in Need of Nitrogen 








. 55 


Orchard Grass in Bloom 








. 66 


Yellow Globe Mangel . 








. 70 


A Good Silo 








. 76 


Improving Cotton 








. 85 


Six Ears to the Stalk . 








. 86 


Corn Smut . 








. 87 


Seed Corn Room . 








. 90 


Improvement of Corn by Selectioi 


1 




. 91 


Effect of Inbreeding of Corn 






. 94 


Alsike Clover 








. 103 



IX 



X 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Beggar Weed 

A Field of Broom Corn 

Carrot 

Crimson Clover 

Shocking Corn 

Corn Cultivator 

Shocking Corn 

Shocking Corn by Machinery 

Shocking Corn 

Upland Cotton 

Cotton Boll 

Cotton Boll 

Cov^pea Rack 

Cov^pea Shock 

Durum Wheat 

Hop Culture 

Kentucky Blue Grass . 

The Sugar Mangel 

Meadow^ Foxtail . 

Orchard Grass 

The Potato Underground 

Potato Tray 

Rape Plant . 

Common Red Clover . 

Red Top 

Threshing Rice 

Sheep's Fescue 

The Soy Bean 

Sugar Beet . 



Page 

io8 

112 
117 
121 

124 

130 
132 
136 

142 

146 
148 

161 
164 
166 
179 

185 
187 

198 
203 
206 

215 
219 
225 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI 











Page 


Sugar Cane ; Laying the Cane 


231 


Taller Fescue .... 




236 


Tall Oat Grass 








237 


Tobacco 








243 


Turnip 








247 


Velvet Bean 








249 


Velvet Grass 








251 


Hairy Vetch 








. 252 


Wheat Production in United States 


. 254 


Wheat Header 






. 


. 256 



INTRODUCTION 

Growing Crops Our Greatest Business 

Compared with Europe and Asia the United 
States is a young nation and our agricultural oper- 
ations still in their infancy. While development 
has been rapid and on a broad scale, it has gone 
on roughly without regard to permanency ; crops 
have been raised without thought as to the effect 
upon the soil ; great quantities of produce have 
been secured regardless of efficiency or quality and 
old methods have been followed without interest in 
any change that might mean a higher state of land 
culture, a greater acre yield of field, orchard and 
garden crops, or a more economical production of 
animal products. 

American agriculture has been of a shifting 
nature. The early settlers introduced many de- 
sirable European plants to be used in addition to 
those native here ; they brought live stock from 
across the water and these were raised on every 
individual farm. As a result, on every farm the 
entire needs of the home were raised or made in 
the household. The farmer not only raised the 
raw materials but manufactured everything that 
was needed for his own use. In time this 
concentrated effort gave way to diversification ; 
and a division of labor resulted. The canal came, 
soon to be followed by the railroad and then later 
by every kind of transportation power. Agricul- 
tural industries became segregated or separated or 
fixed as the nature of the soil or climate or loca- 
tion demanded. 



2 FARM CROPS 

Towns and cities sprang into existence. They 
called for food and for raw materials and in ex- 
change gave finished products for the home, tools 
and machines for the farm, and luxuries for the 
family. From growing every sort of crop, making 
his own clothing and supplying his own needs, the 
farmer altered the program, giving way to special- 
ization. He cultivated his fields and raised his 
animals, and from the surplus, after meeting his 
own needs, he secured his additional supplies from 
the manufacturing centers of the cities and towns. 
In time sections became marked as being peculiarly 
adapted for certain lines of crop production, and 
these became centers of supply, giving rise to ex- 
change, not only between town and city, but be- 
tween agricultural localities also. For instance, 
sugar became a fixture in one section, cotton in an- 
other, tobacco in another, corn shifted to the South 
and Middle West, wheat to the uttermost limits 
both north and west, while live stock settled itself 
where opportunity oflfered it the best prospects. 

Thus sheep departed from New England into 
Ohio, then into the far West and Southwest. Beef 
cattle sought the rich pasture lands in the Middle 
and Western states. The hog followed after corn 
and established himself where corn, clover and 
alfalfa were most at home. Dairy cattle, mindful 
of the worth and possibilities of settled commu- 
nities, congregated around cities and towns, and, 
undaunted by heat, snow or cold, or regardless of 
scant and rocky pasture or diminishing returns in 
hay and forage, became fixed in New England and 
the older sections of the country. At the same 
time, farm poultry, wedded to woman and the 
home, so fixed themselves through sentiment and 



INTRODUCTION 3 

beneficent use as to become a home necessity in 
every section, state and community, developing all 
the time until their annual worth in eggs and meat 
was to become nearly twice the annual gold out- 
put of the entire world for a single year. 

American farms, together with all improvements 
contained thereon, with crops, live stock and all 
other things included, possess a total value of more 
than $36,000,000,000. During the last year the 
farmers of the United States produced farm prod- 
ucts having a value of more than $8,000,000,000; 
they received more than $1,000,000,000 for the farm 
products sent out of the country. Since the farm 
products imported for the use of the entire nation 
amounted to but $600,000,000, there remained in 
favor of this country a total of more than $400,000,- 
000 as a result of the exchange. 

The legend of Antaeus, whom Hercules could not 
overthrow so long as his opponent had his feet upon 
the ground, is applicable to the farming population 
of the United States. This vast body of men has its 
foundation upon the land ; among them are found the 
loftiest patriotism, the sturdiest character and the 
highest integrity — all of which conduce to greater 
growth, to larger development and to more won- 
derful returns than can possibly be indicated by 
any production of the past. 



CHAPTER I 
Good Soils Back of Good Crops 

The soils of the United States are as diverse as 
the people that live on them. They vary greatly 
in origin, in composition and in productive power. 
They are subject to change, and respond to good 
treatment or suffer from inattention or neglect. 
On every side even a casual observer sees soils 
that once abounded in fertility, but are now so 
depleted that they barely pay the cost of seed and 
tillage. Other soils, that inherited poverty through 
generations of thriftless ownership, are now known 
for their high productive power. 

THE SUPREME TEST OF THE FARMER 

Ability to make soil produce is the test of good 
farming. Without this ability, ideal climate, favor- 
able situation and propitious seasons are of little 
agricultural value. The good farmer makes every 
kind of soil do his will and become fertile. There 
is no soil, whether it be the granite soil of New 
England, the red clay lands of the south, the sandy 
soils of the coastal plains, the limestone lands of 
the Middle West, the deep vegetable soils of the 
prairie states or the black lands of the Southwest, 
that will not become more productive in the hands 
of an intelligent and industrious man. 

If the kind of soil is not the paramount object of 
consideration in trying to make farming pay, what 
then is the vital consideration? It is this: knowl- 
edge of the soil and its management. We must 

4 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS 5 

SO know our soil and its proper management that 
we can make it yield better crops ; that we can 
make, not two, but five blades of grass, or stalks 
of corn, or grains of wheat, grow where one grew 




HOW GOOD DRAINAGE WORKS 

When lands are drained with tiles the water level is kept 
far below tlie root bed. Tlie roots are enabled to go down 
deep, their pasture ground is enlarged and they are better 
prepared to gather food. Well- drained lands are drier in the 
spring than undrained lands, and in the summer during periods 
of warm, dry weather, the drained lands are moister than the 
undrained lands. 

before. These happy ends can be achieved only 
by the most intelligent cultivation, and by the 
application of every principle of improvement re- 
vealed by modern science. 



HELPING NATURE 

All this can be done. The old lands are not ex- 
hausted and dead, as commonly supposed. Most 
of them are simply sick and tired and heartbroken 



O FARM CROPS 

through abuse, neglect and cruelty. They need a 
wise and tender hand to restore them to the fruc- 
tuous state in which they fulfilled their mission 
before the soil-robber came. 

The plow will do much to restore original fer- 
tility. It will assist nature to make plant food avail- 
able for the tiny fibrous roots. The plow will let 
air and moisture into the soil. These two elements, 
air and moisture, will be as useful as they are above 
the soil where they cause iron to rust, leaves to 
crumble Into powder, forest trees to break their 
original elements, bricks to chip into pieces, stones 
to lose their tenacity. In the same way they cause 
all these visible bodies to resolve themselves into 
original elements and go to feed plants. In that 
same way do they act In the soil and render this 
hitherto locked-up plant food available for the 
plant. 

TILLAGE MORE NEEDED THAN FER- 
TILIZERS 

This action Is readily understood if we examine 
an analogous case. By heat the air is driven from 
a can of fruit that we wish to preserve. The fruit, 
rich In delicate flavor and appetizing essences, 
keeps as long as air, with the destroying bacteria 
It carries, is excluded from the can. But puncture 
the can or remove the lid and at once the fruit 
begins to decay and to become fine fertilizer for a 
potted plant. In like manner much plant nutrition 
Is canned up in stifif or packed soils. But let a 
deep plowshare go crashing Into these soils and at 
once the " canned-up condition " gives way and the 
available plant food is freed as a result. 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS 7 

All soils, however, do not need tillage any more 
than all animals need corn and wheat. The wide- 
awake farmer must ascertain how it is with his 
soils. However, we do know that for the greater 




HOW BAD DRAINAGE HANDICAPS 



When lands are well drained the roots are enabled to grow 
down deep in the soil. As a result they are drj^ in the spring 
and moist in the summer. When lands are undrained the 
water level is near the surface in the spring, forcing the roots 
to grow extremely shallow. As the summer comes on the 
water level is lower, far beneath the roots. As a result the 
plants are greatlj' handicapped because they are far above the 
water supply. 

part of our older lands tillage is more needed than 
fertilizers. This is especially true of the hay and 
meadow lands, of the clay lands of the Middle 
states and of the red clay corn and cotton lands of 
the South. 



DEEPEN ROOT BED GRADUALLY 

Good, thorough tillage means more than merely 
turning a 4 or 5-incli furrow. It means the gradual 



8 FARM CROPS 

deepening of the seed and root bed until ten or a 
dozen inches are turned to the air for purification 
and rejuvenation. I say gradual, because some 
soils would be physically hurt by sudden deep 
plowing. The innovation must, in many cases, 
come slowly or the soil may be injured for years. 
When there is a probability of injury by deep plow- 
ing, let the plow down gradually. Go one, two or 
even three inches deeper at every plowing, until a 
deep and comfortable seed bed is obtained. 

Chemical fertilizers will aid in soil improvement. 
So will some medicines aid people when they are 
sick. But let us not depend on either too much. 
They are costly in the first place, and then, again, 
they may do harm. Alcohol may be used as a 
medicine, yet may lead to disease. Commercial 
fertilizers add plant food to the soil and produce 
better crops for a time, but if depended on too 
much, they may do serious harm ; for under the 
commercial fertilizer system of farming the humus 
in the soil is soon exhausted, and these sorts of 
fertilizers do nothing to restore this invaluable in- 
gredient. 

THE FUNCTION OF FERTILIZERS AND 
LEGUMES 

Commercial fertilizers are to be used as acces- 
sories to tillage and rotation. Tillage improves the 
physical condition of the soil. The rational way to 
use commercial fertilizers is to ascertain the ele- 
ments needed in the soil and then apply such fer- 
tilizers as are needed. Investigations may show 
that of the elements needed for plant growth, nitro- 
gen, potassium and phosphorus, one or all may be 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS 9 

frequently lacking in the soil. If this be the case, 
maximum crop production is impossible. It fol- 
lows that if one or more of these elements is lack- 
ing in the soil, the deficiency should be met, and 
the element or elements needed should be supplied, 
and it should be the business of the good farmer to 
find out what elements are lacking. 

In this connection we should not forget the place 
the legumes should take in a rational system of 
farming. The legumes ! No magician's wand could 
wave over any agricultural land and bless it more 
than do these plants. Alfalfa, the clovers — the 
common red clover, crimson, alsike, mammoth, 
white and bur — the cowpeas, the soja beans, 
vetches, etc. — these are nature's soil improvers and 
every one a cattle food of the highest excellence. 

THE HIGH IMPORTANCE OF LEGUMES 

These legumes add nitrogen to the soil, and since 
nitrogen is one of the elements found in commer- 
cial fertilizers, it is a good thing to know that it 
may be obtained in other ways than through costly 
fertilizers. The connection between the element 
nitrogen and the leguminous plant lies in the fact 
that bacteria select the clovers, alfalfa, cowpeas 
and other leguminous roots as the place for build- 
ing their nitrogen homes. 

You can see these nitrogenous homes if you will 
take the trouble to examine the roots of any 
leguminous plant. Their presence is shown by the 
knots or wartlike tubercles all over the roots of the 
plant. How do these tubercles gather nitrogen and 
feed plants upon it? In this way: Air, filled with 
atmospheric nitrogen, circulates through the soil. 



lO FARM CROPS 

As this air passes through the soil, the bacteria 
composing the tubercles assimilate the nitrogen and 
hold it as available plant food for the plant sup- 
porting their own parasitic bodies, and for crops 
coming after. 

Great quantities of atmospheric nitrogen can thus 
be stored in the soil. Since nearly one-half of the 




INCREASING POTATO YIELDS 

When mineral fertilizers were applied, the potato crop 
was greatly increased. These contrasts are shown here. Acid 
phosphate and sulphate of potash were the carriers of these 
elements. 

total cost of commercial fertilizers comes from nitro- 
gen, it follows that it is rational farming to grow 
alfalfa, clover, cowpeas or other leguminous 
crops so as to diminish or entirely do away with 
the buying of costly nitrogen. 

Potassium and phosphorus, the other two ele- 
ments often deficient in the soils, must be supplied 
artificially, since they are minerals and cannot be 
drawn from the air. As yet the widest chemical 
or plant speculator has never dared to hope to find 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS II 

a family of plants that will be able to make mineral 
matter for other plants. 

The nearest approach to any such magical dis- 
covery is an open secret available to all. No 
trained genius is needed to do the work; no costly 
apparatus is demanded. Simply a plow and cul- 
tivator to unlock the hidden treasures and to 
change clay and rock and compounds into avail- 
able plant food. Of course, if potassium and phos- 
phorus are deficient in the soil they must be added 
artificially; but they cost little in comparison with 
nitrogen. 

This economical and practical method of soil im- 
provement ought to be steadily followed. The 
grain farmer, the cotton farmer, the hay farmer, 
the market gardener — in fact every business man 
who has to do with soil culture — can rapidly im- 
prove his land and keep it fertile by thus feeding 
the soil. Recently I saw a number of flower beds 
and forcing beds utilizing the cowpeas as a nitro- 
gen crop for the crops that are to come on during 
the winter and fall months. 

AN EXPERIMENT STATION OF YOUR OWN 

Every soil worker should be an experimenter. 
This is the surest practical way to get acquainted 
with the soils, and thus to determine what plant 
food is present or absent. The following plan 
presents a simple method of ascertaining which of 
the three elements of plant food is needed in soils. 
It can be employed for every crop and on any farm. 

Lay off five plats of equal size in any field. 
Plant each to the same crop and use exactly the 
same amount of seed to each. Prepare each plat 



12 FARM CROPS 

alike, and till with the same tools and the same 
number of times, and under the same conditions. 
To the first apply no fertilizer ; to the second apply 
all three elements ; to the third apply nitrogen 
only; to the fourth apply phosphorus only; to the 
fifth apply potassium only. The results will show 
whatever chemicals will pay on the land, and also 
what elements are needed. 

STORING NITROGEN WITHOUT COST 

Of the three elements most likely to be removed 
from the soil by continued crop production, nitrogen 
is the most important, because, unlike phosphorus 
and potassium, it is not found in appreciable quan- 
tities in the original rock. Soil is decomposed rock, 
therefore the decomposition and disintegration of 
soils are continually supplying more potash and 
more phosphoric acid, whereas nitrogen must be sup- 
plied from some external source. The atmosphere is 
composed very largely of nitrogen, and it has been 
finally and definitely determined that one family 
of plants, the leguminosse (clover, cowpeas), are 
able, by the aid of certain micro-organisms in the 
soil, to fix the free, nitrogen of the air and to make 
it available for the use of plants. 

The consideration of nitrogen in relation to soil 
fertility is important also because of the properties 
of this element. Of all the elements of plant 
growth, nitrogen is the most fickle, unstable and 
unreliable. It continually exhibits a tendency to 
leave its chemical combination. For this reason it 
is eminently fitted for the life processes which 
require continued changes in the plant. But this 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS 



13 



peculiar tendency of nitrogen makes it a very dif- 
ficult element for the farmer to control. It is 
costly. 

For a great many reasons we see that any method 
or practice that will increase the store of nitrogen 
in the soil will greatly improve its fertility. It has 
been determined that all leguminous plants have 
the peculiar power of fixing the free nitrogen gas of 
the air, which exists in such great abundance, and 




FERTILIZING THE COWPEA 

No. 1. Phosphorus and potassium, but no nitrogen. 
No. 2. Nitrog-en, but no phosphorus and potassium. 
No. 3. No fertilizers applied. 

changing it to the form of nitrates, in which form 
it can be readily used by all species of plants. This 
fixation is accomplished by means of a minute 
micro-organism in the soil, which attaches itself to 
the roots of these plants, causing the development 
of a small tubercle or swelling, and inside this 
tubercle or swelling the free nitrogen gas of the air 
is changed to nitrates. So far as we know, the 
leguminosae are the only plants that are able to 
fix this nitrogen in quantities large enough to be of 



14 FARM CROPS 

practical importance to the cultivator of the soil. 
This, then, opens to us an easy way of maintaining 
soil fertility. 

In a soil of ordinary fertility, by a proper rotation 
of crops in which clover or cowpeas or some other 
leguminous plant occurs, we are continually adding 
to the soil this valuable and costly element, nitro- 
gen. Practical experience has taught us that the 
fertility of the soil, so far as nitrogen is concerned, 
may be maintained by growing a sufficient number 
of crops of clover or cowpeas. How, then, is the 
supply of phosphoric acid related to the growing of 
leguminous plants? 

The roots of the leguminous plants grow deep 
in the soil. The roots of our ordinary grain crops 
are surface feeders, and a soil may soon become 
exhausted, so far as the plant food available for 
wheat or corn or potatoes is concerned, and may 
still be fertile for the growth of clover or alfalfa 
or cowpeas for the reason that these legumes go 
deeper in the soil and are able to feed upon plant 
food there out of the reach of many other crops. 
When clover or cowpeas or alfalfa is grown for 
fertilizing purposes, it also brings this potash and 
phosphoric acid from the deeper layers of the soil 
to the surface. Not only is soil fertility brought 
up from the deeper soil, but the roots of plants 
growing in contact with the soil are continually 
dissolving the elements of plant food, particularly 
potash and phosphoric acid, and any crop grown 
upon the soil for the purpose of green manuring is 
at the same time increasing the available plant food 
in the soil by dissolving the unavailable compounds. 

These are some of the reasons why the growth 
of the leguminous plants on the soil will increase 



GOOD SOILS BACK OF GOOD CROPS 1 5 

the fertility of the land, and Avhy the growth of 
leguminous plants is always a cheaper process of 
fertilizing than is the application of commercial 
fertilizers. Wherever clover and alfalfa can be 
successfully grown they are unquestionably the 
best of all leguminous plants for fertilizing pur- 
poses, but sometimes soils are too poor to grow 
either successfully. On such soils cowpeas will 
usually produce a large growth and succeed in fix- 
ing considerable quantities of nitrogen. 



CHAPTER II 
How Rotations Help Out 

Crop rotation is not necessary for all kinds of 
crops or for all lines of agriculture. The truck 
farmer, and the florist, and even others, may pre- 
fer single crops, even though great quantities of 
plant food must be bought. The value of their 
products is such that they can afford to do this. 
The hay farmer often prefers a single crop system 
to a change of crops, but to keep his grass thrifty 
much top dressing is necessary. Pasture lands, 
too, where permanency is the rule, must often wait 
long years before they can find rest from change. 
There are exceptions, however. The majority of 
our people raise more than a single line of products. 
Diversification is the rule. 

Nature suggests a rotation of crops. Cut a forest 
growth and a change of trees comes on. Pasture 
lands give way to weeds and thistles; blue grass 
and Bermuda drive out the clovers and timothy. 
Crops do best when furnished a fresh, productive 
and well-tilled soil. Just as animals like variety in 
food and new pastures, so plants want new and fresh 
feeding grounds. We can readily see how a soil 
is injured when a cultivated crop like corn or cotton 
is grown on it year after year. The humus is 
burned out, the soil hardens and deadens, the 
elements of plant food especially needed for these 
special crops become scant. The soil loses its 
productive power. These troubles could be cor- 
rected to a great extent by a change in the crops. 

16 



HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT VJ 

The best rotation demands, not only a change in 
crops, but a change in the feeding habits of the crop. 
For instance, plants that are shallow feeders should 
follow those whose roots penetrate the ground 
deeply. Corn, a shallow penetrator, should follow 
clover or alfalfa, a deep grower. As the clover 
roots strike deeply, the tightly bound subsoil is 
opened, moisture goes down, air enters, and roots 
decay — all contributing to the making and releasing 
of plant food from the compounds that hold it. 

VARYING NEEDS OF PLANTS 

Then, again, plants vary as ,o taste. Some, like 
potatoes, fancy potassium in abundance. Corn 
does best when the soil has an abundance of nitro- 
gen, and all grain crops must have some potash and 
phosphorus to make well-filled heads. 

Crop rotation permits each of these to find its 
favorite dish. Clover, for instance, gets its nitro- 
gen from the air, and also draws up from the sub- 
soil mineral elements, and even gets out of the way 
before a summer crop comes on. Suppose, then, we 
follow clover by corn. Nitrogen, which has been 
desired by the corn, has been stored away in the 
soil by the clover. The clover stubble and roots 
which are plowed under furnish vegetable matter 
for further feeding; the soil is made loose and 
mellow, and hence moisture is held in greater 
abundance, so the plant suffers less severely should 
a dry, hot summer come on. After corn can come 
a crop like wheat or rye or crimson clover to make a 
cover crop to prevent the washing of land or the 
leaching of valuable plant food during the winter's 
rain and snow. 



i8 



FARM CROPS 



ROTATION AND STABILITY 

One crop following another also enables the 
farmer to better employ his labor, his tools and his 
teams ; it checks the spread and ravages of insects 
and diseases. A single crop may fail or be low in 

price, but of several crops 
one or more is likely to be 
in greater demand or higher 
in price. 

And now we come to 
humus. So many of our 
soils need it. There is little 
hope of making them highly 
productive until humus is 
put into them again. The 
growing of cultivated crops 
like corn or cotton deterio- 
rates the soil, not only be- 
cause plant food is taken 
out or washed away, and the 
physical condition of the 

l^oo\^h\ro^ife Usf at St ^^''^ ^^jured, but also bccause 
left. Both ai^e excellent the Vegetable matter is used 

for pasture and nay. They a i • 

are specially desirable in up. All kinds of Stubble and 

permanent pastures, as , ^ 

both are of long duration. WeCdS, ClOVCr roOtS, Stable 

Both are well known in , 

the South and in the semi- manure and green manure 
|rSs"f'bef„g V^ia to°?l: are needed to supply the ex- 
grtS of%heTa"i?ie?""*"' hansted vegetable matter, 

and bring the soils back to 
the productive condition that they were in before 
the plant food and humus were drawn out. 

WHAT THE TILLER MUST DO 

If, then, land is to be made rich and kept rich, 
the tiller must keep these things in mind: He must 




MEADOW FESCUE AND 
BROME GRASS 
The meadow fescue is 



HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT I9 

plow deep. This is not true of all soils ; but old, 
dead, hard clay lands or loams will be improved 
greatly in texture, in water-holding capacity, and in 
feeding area for roots if the plow be sent into the 
soil. He must cultivate shallow. The cultivator is 
to kill weeds, to conserve moisture, to aerate the 
soil. If the cultivator be run deeper than two or 
three inches for most crops, the roots are likely to 
be injured ; and to injure the roots is to lessen the 
feeding capacity of the plants. 

THE GROWING OF GRASSES 

Under usual conditions the farmer should grow 
live stock; and to do this successfully and econom- 
ically he should have either a part of his farm in 
permanent pasture or he should practice some sys- 
tem of crop rotation that will enable him to get 
both pasture grass and mowing. If a permanent 
meadow or pasture is desired, it is wise to sow dif- 
ferent varieties of grass seeds. 

Nature mixes her seeds when she does her plant 
ing, and Nature is always a trustworthy teacher. It 
is a good plan in sowing seeds to have in mind a 
pasture that will give green grass from early spring 
to latest fall. In those sections of the country 
where it grows sparingly, and where it is easily 
crowded out, red clover should be mixed with all 
grasses sowed, for it leaves in the soil a wealth of 
plant food for the grasses coming after it to feed 
on; and we know, too, that red clover grows 
abundantly in many parts of our country. We 
should study the clover plant carefully so as to 
mix it with the seed. 

Now, there is a reason for mixing clover and 
grass. The true grasses, so far as science now 



20 



FARM CROPS 



shows, get all their nitrogen from the soil. Hence, 
they more or less exhaust the soil, but the clovers 
are legumes, and all legumes are able, by the means 
of the bacteria on their roots, to use the free nitro- 
gen of the air. Hence, without cost to the farmer, 

these clovers help the soil 
to feed their neighbors, the 
true grasses. For this rea- 
son some legumes should 
always be included in the 
grass seed. 

Previous Preparation. — 
In the sowing of grasses or 
clovers it is not possible for 
them to do well in a soil full 
of weeds. It is best to plant 
the grass in fields from 
which cultivated crops have 
been taken. Grasses follow 
cowpeas, wheat and oats 
nicely for this reason. The 
soil in which grass is to be 
seeded should be very fine, 

CanadiWbluT^grasses are mellow and COmpact. One- 
pictured here — the Canadian i ir ^i r m 
at the left and the Ken- half the failures in grOW- 
tucky at the right Their • crrc^^^ :«, Hup +n tlip 
principal use is for per- ing graSS IS QUe TO tne 
manent pastures and for f^^.^ ^i^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ j^^S j^g^ 

been plowed, and con- 
sequently its particles are loose and comparatively 
far apart. This want of soil firmness is the cause 
of failure. Let the soil be free of weeds, but com- 
pact and mellow soil acts as a blanket to keep the 
moisture from wasting into air, and at the same 
time the warm air is enabled to circulate in the soil. 
If it is necessary to plow the land previous to 




BLUE GRASS 
Both the Kentucky 



and 



HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT 21 

seeding, let it be done some months in advance. 
Plowed land should then be harrowed several times 
so as to get it soft and mellow and compact. Where 
the seed bed has been carefully prepared, little work 
will be necessary after the seeds are sowed. 

SEEDING AND FEEDING 

A light harrowing is sufficient to cover the broad- 
casted seed. This part of the work should be done 
as soon as the seeds are scattered, for if there be 
moisture in the soil the tiny seeds will soon sprout, 
and if the harrowing be done after germination has 
somewhat advanced, the tender grass plants will 
be injured. I have frequently gone over fields 
where timothy or clover has been scattered simply 
on top of the ground, and have seen germinating 
seeds so completely unprotected that as soon as 
the hot sun shines on them, they wither and die. 
Had a slight covering been given the seed, all might 
have been well. 

It is usually advisable to use commercial fertil- 
izers on hay and pasture lands. Chemicals can be 
used to good advantage, if not to the best advan- 
tage, on the meadow crops. It is too frequently 
the custom to use all the chemicals on corn and 
cotton and wheat, and let the grasses take care of 
themselves. Were the grass areas as well and 
abundantly fertilized, not only would as much for- 
age result, but the soil would be put in an admir- 
able condition for corn and cotton when these 
later come in the rotation. 

Of course it is to be understood that there is no 
better fertilizer for grass than stable manure, but 
where this is not available the commercial fer- 



22 



FARM CROPS 



tilizers give good results and their use should be 

increased. 

Sowing Grass Seed. — Very light, chaffy seed, 

such as those of brome grass, especially the im- 
portant seed and awned 
seed, such as those of 
tall meadow oat grass, 
do not feed through 
seeding machines satis- 
factorily, and should 
therefore, be sown by 
hand. Hand sowing 
should always be done 
when the air is as still 
as possible. It is well- 
nigh impossible to dis- 
tribute the seed evenly 
when the wind is blow- 
ing. Unless the sower 
is decidedly expert, it is 
best to sow half of the 
seed at a time, making 
the second sowing cross- 
wise to the first. This 




MEADOW FOXTAIL 

A hardy perennial grass 
much like timothy in appear- 
ance. Its chief value is in 
mixtures for permanent pas- 
tures and meadows. It is sel- 
dom grown alone. For nutri- 
tiveness it is about at a par 
with timothy. It fancies rich 
soils and is best known in the 
Middle and New England 
states. 



msures a more even 
stand. For such seed 
as will feed through 
it, like timothy, red- 
top (recleaned,) clovers, and others that are 
small, round and clean, the wheelbarrow seeder is 
the most satisfactory implement yet invented. Re- 
cleaned blue grass seed can be sown with this 
implement, but the uncleaned seed should be 
sown by hand. Grass seeders are frequently at- 
tached to grain drills. They answer very well for 



HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT 23 

timothy to be sown with grain, but are hard to 
keep in order. There are several cheap grass seed- 
ing machines which scatter the seed by mechanical 
means. They are satisfactory for seed that feed 
through them readily, but it requires some patience 
to regulate them properly, and the sower must 
walk at a uniform rate or the seed will not be scat- 
tered evenly. 

Seed of approximately the same size and weight 
may be mixed before sowing. Very large seed 
should never be mixed with small ones, or the small 
seed will feed out first. If heavy seed is mixed 
with light ones, even of the same size, the heavy 
ones will feed out first, unless the mixture is kept 
well stirred. In sowing such mixtures it is well to 
put only a small amount of seed in the machine at 
a time. 

THE GENTLE ART OF CULTIVATION 

How deep shall we cultivate? That question has 
been answered with quite a good deal of certainty. 
At least a half hundred carefully planned and 
executed experiments have, by their results, an- 
swered in favor of shallow cultivation. Since then 
we have heard much about this new idea in cul- 
tivating the soil. But we are in danger of going 
to the other extreme. Our fathers plowed corn ; 
they cultivated too deep. Some of us, perhaps, 
cultivate too shallow; we get into trouble with 
weeds; and because of our thin mulch, let the 
water get away from the soil. 

In sections where there is much rain, the shallow 
extreme may do ; but where moisture is demanded 
— in the North, where the ground is frozen for so 



24 FARM CROPS 

many months; in the semi-arid regions, where the 
supply is generally limited — a deeper mulch and a 
more effective mulch is to be preferred. Four 
inches, perhaps, is too much and i inch is too 
little. A better depth is from 2 to 3 inches ; better 
for weed destruction and good enough for mulch 
making. 

Level Culture Most Important. — You will find 
farmers who still ridge their crops ; they hill the 
crop that it may not be blown over by winds, nor 
pulled down by storms and rain. But have you 
ever noticed that nearby crops, although given level 
culture, are no more troubled by storms and wind 
than the hilled and ridged crops? Often not so 
much, is the true situation. 

Hilling and ridging the crop Is advisable for just 
one reason : to drain the land. With proper drain- 
age and seed bed preparation, there Is no occasion 
for either of these expensive practices. 

Level culture, since it exposes a smaller area to 
sun and wind than ridge culture, actually protects, 
with greater efficiency, the water stored in the soil. 
Bedding the land is often advisable with some soils 
(although it increases the cost of planting), for the 
reason that it secures a small amount of drainage 
and a greater warmth to the soil. 

When to Cultivate. — You must be in sympathy 
with the spirit of cultivation if you would get the 
best results. You must do it at the time when the 
soil is in the best condition to profit by the work. 
Just after a rain, the word goes out. But use your 
judgment here, else you may cultivate too early 
after the rain and " puddle " your land. When the 
next rain comes, the crust caused by the cultivation 
may be so hard and stiff the rain may slip away 



HOW ROTATIONS HELP OUT ^5 

before it can secure entrance through the stubborn 
top. 

Here is the better plan: Just wait until the soil 
is slightly dried ; enough so that when it is stirred 
it will not settle and connect with the capillary 
tubes below, thus defeating the very object you 
set about to secure. In times when you are de- 
pending upon cultivation for water preservation it 
will be worth your while to watch the mulch, to 
see if it is still an effective blanket or if the con- 
nection with the capillary tubes below is beginning 
to take place. If the latter be so, it is high time 
that you repeat the cultivating work. 

Water Saving Means Early Work. — Water sav- 
ing falls into two means — the catching and holding 
of it. You first must get water into the soil, and 
then you can use it ; provided, of course, you do 
not let it escape before it is needed. Too many 
tillers of the soil fail to understand that the most 
important principle at stake in water saving is to 
till and cultivate in such a manner that there is free 
access of water into the soil. Then it can be pre- 
served by cultivation and mulches throughout the 
season. But failures in supplying water, although 
effective culture — mulch making — is given during 
the growing season, are certain to happen if no 
water is in the soil to be conserved. If you would 
have water for plants for the time when they shall 
need it, if you would have soil water for them for 
later use, make no mistake about first getting it into 
the soil, and the rest of the work will be easy. 

Points to Keep in Mind. — i. Getting ready for 
crops — opening soils and catching water — is of more 
importance than after cultivation. 

2. Get water deep into the soil and you will 
have bigger stores of supply. 



26 FARM CROPS 

3. Cultivate after every rain, not when the soil 
is really wet, but before it becomes very dry. 

4. Make your mulch deep enough — 3 inches is 
none too deep in dry regions. 

5. Open the soil early in the spring with a disk 
if you have not fall plowed or winter tilled. 

6. Stir unused summer lands frequently so as 
to let water in and to keep it in for the next crop. 

7. Lands frozen up for long periods, as in the 
New England territory, are as needful of water 
saving as those of the semi-arid or dry farming 
districts. 



CHAPTER III 

Getting the Seed Bed Right 

When weather conditions are favorable for some 
time preceding and following wheat, grass and other 
fall seedlings, the seed bed loses some of its im- 
portance. But my experience is against chancing 
the condition at this stage of the crop. Once in four 
or five years, on the average, you can neglect the 
seed bed with impunity. But in the other years, if 
the soil at seeding time is improperly prepared, toll 
will be demanded at harvest. Especially is this true 
if the rainfall is slight ; for, in this case, the soil is 
indifferently compacted and the seed lies unsprouted 
for days or even weeks. 

To give a concrete illustration, let me use a small 
part of a field that was plowed and seeded a few 
years ago for experimental purposes. The season 
was dry and had been so for several weeks. But 
the soil responded to the plow with good satisfac- 
tion, however. Some clods were evident, but none 
was of large size ; nor did they resist the harrow 
and drag to any considerable extent. Had a rain 
come, the seed bed would have served its purpose 
and started the crop. But no rain came and seed 
time did come. 

After waiting as long as custom would permit, 
the field was seeded. Then days and even weeks 
passed, and still no rain, and no wheat either for 
that matter; for there was not enough water in the 
seed bed area to germinate the seed. The loose, 
opened, plowed surface had acted, not as a pump 

27 



28 I"ARM CROPS 

to bring the moisture up to the seed place, but as a 
blanket to keep it down. 

WELL-MADE SEED BEDS NOT DISAP- 
POINTING 

Adjoining and nearby areas that had been well 
worked and well compacted acted in a different 
manner. Although of the same soil type, and sub- 
jected to the same treatment, but worked so thor- 
oughly that the soil was made firm, compact and 
fine, they acted differently. The seed on these 
areas quickly sprouted, the young wheat plants 
showed the usual vitality and thrift, and at harvest 
time yielded 30 to 44 bushels an acre. 

The field under discussion yielded but nine 
bushels to the acre. A part of it, however, when 
it was noted that the germination was so faulty 
and impossible, was given some additional culture 
through the use of a heavy roller, to serve for the 
purpose of packing. The roller, weighed down as 
much as possible, and requiring four horses to 
draw it, put the surface soil in a reasonably good 
condition ; at least, enough to start the water in 
the subsoil reservoir upward, connecting it with 
the surface body in which rested the seed. Evi- 
dence of this was seen within a day or two at the 
top of the smooth surface, especially in the morn- 
ings, which showed the crust moist and damp. 

PACKING THE SOIL STARTS WATER 
UPWARD 

Here the proof was seen. The water was mov- 
ing upward. It was passing straight up through 
the layer of soil in which the seed rested, and was 




GOOD CROPS FOR SOIL AND STOCK 

At the top we see a splendid field of soy beans. At the 
bottom a crop of peas and oats that yielded nine tons to the 
acre. 




TWO VERY PROFITABLE CROPS 

o-o^i'^i?^ timothy field at the top shows what good tillage, 
good feeding and good land preparation will do. At the bot- 
tom IS shown a field of Kafllr corn as it grows in Kansas. 



GETTING THE SEED BED RIGHT 29 

the succor needed in order that germination might 
take place. In a few days the sprouted grain made 
its appearance above ground, and, while belated 
and backward, overcame largely its previous mis- 
fortune and delay. At harvest this area yielded 
slightly more than 28 bushels an acre. 

I should state here, also, that as soon as it became 
apparent that the soil was losing its moisture 
through evaporation, the fine peg-tooth harrow was 
dragged over the field in order to break the smooth, 
even crust formed by the roller and to make a 
mellow mulch at the top of the soil for checking 
the water that was escaping into the atmosphere. 

This experience has always been a concrete ex- 
ample to me, showing the necessity of a good seed 
bed that must be made right, and made at the right 
time. This bit of experience is not out of place, 
for on every farm some land is being made ready 
for some fall crop. But is the seed bed ready? 

MOISTURE AND SEED BED 

For a good stand the body of the soil must be 
deep, compact and of otherwise right condition for 
germination and thrifty, active growth. Take the 
wheat field, for instance. If it be plowed reason- 
ably early the chances are that with an occasional 
disking or harrowing the soil will be compacted 
and the weeds sufficiently held in check, so that at 
seeding time enough water will be in the soil to 
germinate the seed and to start the crop. If, how- 
ever, plowing comes late, as it does often, a dif- 
ferent problem is before you. You may have a 
crop of weeds to turn under; and these weeds may 
not rot fast enough to allow the turned soil to be 



30 FARM CROPS 

welded with the undersoil so that capillarity can 
take place by seeding time. In this case the 
moisture in the storehouse beneath gets into the 
the seed bed very slowly, thus causing a poor 
stand as the result. 

And the same condition prevails if the soil is in a 
bad physical condition. AVhen you turn under 
clods, coarse manure, and have an otherwise open 
connection between the surface or seed bed soil 
and the water reservoir soil, you get little or no 
help from the water stored beneath. The right 
preparation of the soil demands cautious observa- 
tion of these matters in the preparation of the 
seed bed. 



EARLY PLOWING PROTECTS WATER 

SUPPLY 

I asked a successful farmer recently why he never 
had any difficulty in starting his crops. He replied 
that he always " secured a perfect seed bed ; and 
the perfect seed bed I always get by early plowing 
and by repeated workings, using the disk, the peg- 
tooth harrow and the roller." 

Not least among these things is early plowing. 
For the furrow-slice itself acts as a mulch and holds 
in the soil much water that would otherwise escape. 
Then, too, where weeds grow, water is used up; 
and when the winds blow over unprotected soil, 
water is licked up and carried away from soil and 
seed. 

Early plowing gives weeds and grass and other 
debris time enough to rot and decay and to become 
thoroughly incorporated into the soil. By the time 



GETTING THE SEED BED RIGHT 



31 



the top soil and the under soil have been knitted 
together again capillarity is at work sending water 
into the seed bed — just where newly planted seed 
can get the advantage of it. 

Then, too, early plowing and repeated workings 
of the soil mean mellowness and fineness and com- 
pactness. All of these do much to make the seed 
bed right and perfect. You want no loose, open top 
soil unless there is an abundance of rain to start 




PEG-TOOTH HARROW 

This common farm tool is not only useful in preparing 
the seed bed, but it has a place in weed destruction. After 
crops like corn, or cotton, or wheat are planted, the fine peg- 
tooth harrow can be run over the ground, not only for its ef- 
fect in mellowing the soil and conserving the moisture, but m 
destroying the grass and weed seed at the surface of the 
ground. 

the crop. Nor do you want a cloddy soil, nor one 
of poor, mechanical form, nor one in bad physical 
condition. Such will not be conducive to a good 
stand or to vigor or healthy growth. A poorly 
compacted, lately plowed, clod-filled soil does not 
make a good seed bed and handles the water with 
little or no satisfaction. 

Even though the season be wet, repeated diskings 
or harrowings are good, because they keep the 
weeds down. If the season is dry and the soil turns 



3^ FARM CROPS 

cloddy and hard, then disking, dragging and rolling 
are necessary in order to fine and compact and 
mellow the soil. 

HARROW RIGHT AFTER THE PLOW 

In the preparation of the soil, to harrow immedi- 
ately after plowing is always advisable. A moist 
clod is a good deal easier to break than is a dry, 
hard one. The time to destroy clods is immediately 
after plowing, while the soil is still damp and fresh. 
Nor is it best to wait until morning nor to do it at 
night after a day's plowing has been done. For sun 
and air soon dry and harden ; and you make a mis- 
take by a too long delay in working soon after 
plowing. It is a good deal better to change from 
plow to harrow four or five times each day, and 
back again if you can do better work. 

Besides, it is more satisfying to you, and cer- 
tainly more restful to your team, to change from 
one kind of work to another rather frequently. And 
it is most certainly true that you can greatly lessen 
the work of a seed bed preparation, by a good deal 
of work, if you drag and harrow before the ground 
gets hard and dry. 

WORK THE SOIL WELL 

All of this intensive culture pays. First, because 
the plant starts better; second, because the soil is 
in better physical condition ; and, third, because 
plant food has been better served for the needs of 
the plant. 

A plant, for instance, has a good deal of trouble 
to get nourishment out of a hard, stony, disagree- 



GETTING THE SEED BED RIGHT 



33 



able clod. Its roots won't penetrate a big, hard 
clod. If, however, that clod during the period of 
seed bed making be broken up into thousands of 
pieces and particles, be crushed and ground into 
fine earth and dust, the plant food stored in it will 
be rendered available because the atmosphere and 
water and other agents that make plant food usable 




HEADER AND THRESHER 

In the Far West, the combined harvester and thresher is 
commonly used. The implement is propelled by a traction 
engine. It is possible to cover a swarth 40 feet w^ide, and the 
harvesting and threshing is all done at one operation, thus 
bringing the expense of the work down to a minimum. 

can then more actively work, and can make of the 
clod a palatable dish for plants. 

WHEN WHEAT FOLLOWS CORN 

Following corn with wheat is now being prac- 
ticed more and more. And it is good practice, for 
it admits of crop rotation, puts in a wheat crop with 
no expense for plowing, and provides a better seed 
bed if the corn crop has been rightly cultivated 
than fall plowing: can do. Many farmers fail to get 



34 FARM CROPS 

the best results from the use of corn ground for 
wheat, because they do not give this kind of land 
enough seed bed preparation. It may be that one 
disking is enough, but the chances are against it. 
Double disking and a cross-harrowing will do the 
work better and will insure the crop. 

If clean cultivation has been practiced, there is a 
reasonably good seed bed, because the soil is com- 
pact, mellow and fine, made so by culture in the 
spring and by the cultivating tools during the corn- 
growing season. If now disked and cross-harrowed 
just before wheat seeding, so as to level and open 
the surface crust, a good covering will be given 
the seed, and just about as good a crop may be 
expected as from land plowed and prepared for 
wheat in the usual manner. 

The difference in yield, as a rule, is not enough 
to cover the extra cost of plowing. Hence corn and 
wheat always go well together ; so much so that 
the practice is extending and growing more popu- 
lar. But if best results are to be secured, the soil 
must be selected with an eye for both wheat and 
corn and each crop must be kept in mind in the 
culture of the other. 



CHAPTER IV 

Crop Yields and Proper Culture 

There are three simple and important factors 
which have much to do with increasing the crop 
yields : Increasing the crop-producing power of the 
soil by fertilizing the soil ; planting seed of high- 
bred and better producing varieties ; practicing 
proper and more thorough culture methods. 

The last of these is really the simplest and most 
readily applied. Probably more low yields and crop 
failures are due to insufficient or improper cultiva- 
tion than to any other single factor over which the 
farmer has control in the production of any par- 
ticular crop. With a soil of average fertility, the 
preparation of the seed bed by the proper tillage 
and cultivation methods very largely determines the 
yield of the crop. 

Three general methods of tillage for preparing 
the land are practiced : Plowing, listing and 
disking. There may be variations of these three 
methods; as, early plowing, late plowing, shallow 
plowing, deep plowing, single listing, double 
listing, little cultivation after plowing, frequent cul- 
tivation after plowing; and local conditions may de- 
termine which method is the best. That certain 
methods are superior to others has been proved by 
comparative trials carried on at the experiment sta- 
tions during recent years. The largest average 
yield an acre with wheat in Kansas for two years, 
37.43 bushels, and the largest net profit for one 
year, $35.59, were secured by plowing August 15, 7 

85 



36 



FARM CROPS 



inches deep. This land was cultivated at intervals 
after the plowing with the harrow, acme or disk. 
Thus the weeds were destroyed, the soil moisture 
was conserved and the soil was well pulverized and 










WHEAT HARVESTER 

The improvements that have been made on this machine 
since 1833 have been remarkable. The work is now performed 
with little labor and is better done than in the old days with 
the cradle and rake. Wherever wheat is raised the wheat har- 
vester is an indispensable tool. 

well settled and put into excellent seed bed condi- 
tion by the time the wheat was planted. 



IDEAL SEED BED FOR SMALL SEEDS 



An ideal seed bed for small seeds for best results 
should not be mellow or loose to too great a depth, 



CROP YIELDS AND PROPER CULTURE 37 

but rather the soil should be mellow and well pul- 
verized only about as deep as the seed is planted. 
Below that depth the soil should be firm and well 
settled, making a good connection with the subsoil, 
so that the soil water stored in the subsoil may be 
drawn up into the surface soil. The firm soil be- 
low the seed, well connected with the subsoil, sup- 
plies moisture to the germinating seed and the 
young plantlet, while the mellow soil above the 
seed allows sufficient circulation of air to supply 
oxygen and favors the warming of the soil, gather- 
ing the heat of the sunshine during the day and 
acting as a blanket to conserve the soil heat, main- 
taining a more uniform temperature of the soil dur- 
ing the night. The mellow soil mulch above the 
seed conserves the soil moisture, acting as a mulch 
to keep the moisture from reaching the surface, 
where it would be rapidly lost by evaporation. The 
same condition favors the growth of the young 
shoot upward into the air and sunshine. 

The too loose, deep seed bed is almost wholly 
dependent upon sufficient rains to germinate the 
seed and start the young plants. In such a seed bed 
drouth is very apt to injure the plants, because of 
the rapid drying out of the soil to the depth of the 
plowing. In the loose seed bed, wheat and grass 
for instance, is not only apt to burn out in the sum- 
mer, but it is also more apt to freeze out in winter, 
than wheat grown in the ideal seed bed described 
above. 

The seed bed for corn, cotton, potatoes and sim- 
ilar crops should be deeper and more mellow than 
the seed bed for small seeds, and the early cultiva- 
tion of the corn and cotton land previous to plant- 
ing may cause a marked increase in yield, as shown 



38 FARM CROPS 

by experiments which have been recently completed 
at the Kansas station. These experiments relate 
to different methods of tillage, which may be prac- 
ticed during the winter or early spring, in prepar- 
ing the seed bed and include deep and shallow plow- 
ing, double disking and listing, namely, plowing land 
into ridges with a double moldboard plow or lister. 
In these experiments corn has usually been 
planted in listed furrows, except that the surface 
and lister methods of planting have been compared 
each year on the plowed plats. While the relative 
yields vary somewhat from year to year, it is very 
clear that the early plowing and early listing have 
given increased yields of corn, ranging from 6 to 
12 bushels an acre. 

CULTIVATION OF CORN, COTTON AND 
POTATOES 

It is a safe rule to follow, and usually pays well, 
to prepare a good seed bed and to give the land 
thorough cultivation previous to planting. After 
planting, whether listed or surface planted, it is a 
good plan to harrow these crops before they come 
up, weather conditions permitting, and the harrowing 
may be continued with good results until the crops 
are 2 or 3 inches high. Surface-planted intertillage 
crops may usually be harrowed safely before they 
are up, or just as they come through the ground, 
but harrowing at this time, when the plants are 
very small, is apt to cover or destroy a part of 
them. With cotton this does not matter. Do not 
harrow with your eyes shut ; keep your eyes open, 
and, if in your judgment the crop is being injured 
more than it is being benefited, do not harrow. The 



CROP YIELDS AND PROPER CULTURE 39 

time to clean is at the first cultivation. Most of 
the weeds in the row or hill which escape the first 
cultivation cannot be covered or destroyed at suc- 
ceeding cultivations. 

While it is not practicable to recommend any 
system of cultivation which will suit all soils and 
all conditions, the following plan for cultivating 
surface-planted crops on land which is fairly mel- 
low and not too trashy is very satisfactory. Soon 
after planting go over with weeder or peg-tooth 
harrow. If possible, harrow a second time. Cul- 
tivate deeply the first time, throwing enough soil 
to the plants to cover the weeds in the row. The 
second cultivation should be a bit more shallow 
than the first, while the third and fourth cultiva- 
tions should be from shallow to medium deep. If 
the third cultivation can follow the second cultiva- 
tion closely it may be advisable, provided the weeds 
were well covered at the first cultivation, to throw 
the soil away from the row at the second cultiva- 
tion and bring it back again at the third. 

After the crop is laid by, if heavy rains pack and 
settle the soil, shallow cultivation with a single 
horse cultivator may often give increased yields 
and a clean field. Care must be taken not to cul- 
tivate too deeply so as to injure the roots, but 
medium rather than very shallow cultivation at the 
close of the season when the crop is laid by is pos- 
sible. Late in the season, during the hot, dry 
days of July and August, the soil will dry rapidly 
and a deeper soil mulch is needed to conserve the 
soil moisture and prevent the surface soil from be- 
coming too hot. On the other hand, if the seed 
bed has been well prepared, deeply loosened and 
well pulverized, the plants do not require deep cul- 



40 FARM CROPS 

tivation early in the spring, and the shallower 
cultivation at this time destroys the weeds better 
and allows for the more rapid and deeper warming 
of the soil than the too deep cultivation. 

Roots gradually approach the surface near the 
root stock, which requires that the surface-planted 
crop be not cultivated too close to the hill at the 
last cultivation. The root crowns of listed corn, 




CORN CULTIVATOR 

A style of cultivator that destroys the 
weeds and mellows the surface. The roots 
are not disturbed at all. 

for instance, being several inches beneath the sur- 
face of the soil, allow for deep cultivation close to 
the hill without injury to the corn roots. The vari- 
ation in yield by the different methods of cultiva- 
tion from year to year and the nearly uniform aver- 
age yields indicate that the method of cultivation 
practiced, whether 2 or 3 inches may not make 
much difference In the yield of the crop, provided 
the cultivation is done well and at the right time. 

WHY WE CULTIVATE 

The primary objects in cultivating are to kill the 
weeds and maintain a surface mulch of mellow soil 



CROP YIELDS AND PROPER CULTURE 4I 

to conserve the soil moisture. The mellow surface 
also favors the catching and storing of the rains. 
The stirring in early spring warms the soil by de- 
creasing the evaporation of water, and the mulch 
of mellow soil acts as a blanket to prevent the rapid 
radiation of heat from the soil. The soil is also 
aerated by cultivation, the foul gases arising from 
decaying organic matter are removed, and life-giv- 
ing oxygen is supplied to the soil bacteria and to 
the growing plant roots ; and more than this, the 
fertility of the soil is developed by cultivation. 

The store or plant food in the soil is largely in 
an unavailable condition; before the potassium, 




TWO-ROW CORN CULTIVATOR 

With straight rows one man and three 
horses are enabled to do the work of two 
men and four horses. This is quite an iterai 
in cultivating large areas of corn. 

phosphorus and nitrogen become soluble, and thus 
available to the plant, the soil must pass through 
a stage of disintegration and chemical change, which 
can take place only in the presence of moisture, heat 
and air, factors which are largely controlled by cul- 
tivation, soil and climatic conditions being similar. 
There are, perhaps, no exact rules or methods for 



42 FARM CROPS 

cultivating, but a farmer observing the crop and 
soil conditions, and understanding the principles of 
soil cultivation, may vary the manner and practice 
of cultivation somew^hat to suit the conditions and 
accomplish the objects desired. 

It is very important to cultivate at the right time. 
An experiment carried on for two years at the Kan- 
sas station, in cultivating corn at the right time 
and the wrong time, resulted as follows : Average 
yield for wrong time cultivation, 61.9 bushels an 
acre ; average yield for right time cultivation, 67.8 
bushels an acre, or 6.1 bushels an acre in favor of 
cultivating the corn at the right time. The right 
time means soon after the rain, when the weeds 
have started and the soil is just dry enough to cul- 
tivate well. The wrong time is a week or ten days 
later when the weeds have become larger and the 
soil is hard and dry and turns over in clods and 
lumps. It costs more to cultivate at the wrong 
time than at the right time, because of the slower 
and more difficult work and greater draft of the 
cultivator, due to unfavorabe soil conditions, and 
yet the right time cultivation increases the yield. 

It is important to use the best implements, but 
doing the work well and at the right time is even 
of more importance than the type of cultivator used. 
No one type of cultivator can be recommended as 
superior to others, but different kinds of cultivators 
are useful for different work and for different con- 
ditions. The crop grower should have more than 
one kind of cultivator. 



CHAPTER V 
What Crops for Feeding 

The best system of agriculture is based upon 
good crops and well-bred live stock. With these 
to be possible the following propositions must be 
always kept in mind. First, the soil must be rich 
in the simple elements of plant food, that there 
may be an abundance of farm crops. Second, the 
farm crops must be adapted to climatic and soil 
environments, so as to produce from the elements 
in the soil the largest growth of desirable plant 
products or animal food. Third, superior farm 
stock must be raised in order to secure the cheap 
production of high quality meat and milk or wool 
and labor with the least expenditure of food. 

The farmer, to make agriculture remunerative, 
must adapt himself to what falls within these three 
lines. He must enrich the soil. He must aid 
Nature in her efforts to change the unavailable plant 
food into an assimilable form. Before the plant or 
animal died it was unavailable for plant food. The 
soil always holds locked-up food in its storehouse. 
It is just like preserved fruit and vegetables. Our 
wives take tomatoes, for instance, and after pre- 
paring them, put them in the cans and seal them 
up to prevent decay and decomposition. In the 
same way our soils have been treated. We have 
canned them up, so to speak, by taking out or- 
ganic matter, by shallow plowing, and by careless- 
ness in tillage, until these soils are hard and baked 
and dead. The air no longer enters freely, and 

43 



44 



FARM CROPS 



consequently the unavailable plant food is not ren- 
dered assimilable. 

If the plow is turned loose in these soils, and the 
land carefully and thoroughly tilled and cultivated 
and at the same time if organic matter is freely 
returned through cowpeas, clover and the stable 
manures, soils will quickly change from their un- 
productive condition into that 
other state which produces 
remunerative crops. Where 
the soil is poor, the crops are 
poor, and poor crops permit 
only poor live stock. 

But the ideal agriculture 
maintains itself. Every sys- 
tem of farming should con- 
sist of both plant production 
and the feeding of animals. 
The importance of this is seen 
from the following: Clover, 
cowpeas, alfalfa and other 
legumes are needed to build 
And these are 

in the sandy lands along the very kinds of CropS we 
the gulf coast. It re- . r i .,11 

quires a warm soil and want lOr horsCS, Cattle, Shcep 
rather moist. It is j . -.tt- 1 ij ^ 

splendid for hay and and swme. We should grow 
pSses". ^^^°^^^^"^ P^^- such crops to improve the soil 

and thereby get larger yields 

of grain, forage and grass crops to obtain plants 

rich in feeding constituents. 

CATTLE FOODS THAT HELP THE LAND 




BEGGAR WEED 

Best known in the tip the Soil. 
South — m Florida and ^ 



Natural manures and fertilizers are needed for im- 
proving the soil. The more live stock we have, the 



WHAT CROPS FOR FEEDING 45 

greater the quantity of manures produced. The 
commercial fertilizer bill is our greatest tax, and it 
is to a great extent unnecessary, for if businesslike 
agriculture is followed, chemicals will be needed 
only to a limited extent. It should be our policy 
to purchase fertilizers in the form of feeding stuffs. 
Take a dollar and purchase cottonseed meal or tank- 
age or gluten, but instead of applying direct to the 
soil, as sources of nitrogen in the fertilizer, first feed 
them to live stock and get the value of the organized 
condition of the elements. 

The important difference between plant food or 
fertilizers and animal food or plants lies in the fact 
that the plant takes the unorganized chemical 
elements and manufactures or builds them into or- 
ganized tissue, which is the plant or the fruit of the 
plant. The plant or the fruit of the plant is fed to 
live stock, and meat or milk or wool or labor is 
produced from the organized material. The animals 
return to the soil the very chemical elements that 
the plant originally contained, only in a disorgan- 
ized condition, which is the only way in which 
plants can use them for new growth. Thus the 
plant feeds the animal, the animal feeds the plant. 

The animal changes raw materials into finished 
products. The feeder can use corn, grass, cow- 
peas, clover, bran and cottonseed meal and make 
balanced rations for all classes of live stock. These 
are simply raw materials, which command the 
lowest prices when placed on the markets of the 
world. An increased value follows their change 
into a finished product. A dairy cow, when fed a 
mixture of 25 pounds of corn stover, cowpea hay 
and cottonseed meal, with a value of but a few 
cents, will produce from them 2 pounds of butter 



46 FARM CROPS 

worth many cents. The increased value is the re- 
sult of the change from the raw material into the 
finished product. 

FEEDING STUFFS SHOULD BE HOME 

RAISED 

Little need be said about the importance of grow- 
ing on the farm all the bulk food required for live 
stock. For one thing the greater part of the feed- 
ing stuffs can be grown cheaper than they can be 
bought of some one else. Practically all materials 
grown on the farm and used for feeding purposes 
are low in protein but correspondingly high in 
other nutrients. The farmer can raise all the car- 
bohydrates and fat needed for either the dairy or 
the block, but unfortunately there are no feeding 
stuffs made up wholly of protein. If there were, 
the balancing of rations in reference to cost would 
be a very simple process indeed. 

PROTEIN NOT SOLELY PURCHASED 

Though protein is the constituent most needed 
on most farms, when purchased, other nutrients 
must be taken along with the protein. Carbo- 
hydrates and fat are present in all feeding stuffs 
and they have a commercial value. Consequently 
when we buy protein we get also carbohydrates 
and fat. It should not be understood that these 
latter constituents are a trouble or a nuisance ; they 
have a value. But you readily see it is unfortunate 
to purchase them when their like can be secured at 
home. It suggests the same idea that a necktie 
must always be purchased with a collar. One may 



WHAT CROPS FOR FEEDING 



47 




never wear a necktie, or he may have all he needs 

at home, yet every time he buys a collar he is 

obliged to pay for a necktie as well. If a necktie is 

not needed, but only a collar, it is likely the rule 

would be to get the collar having the least necktie 

about it and the value of the purchase would be 

placed wholly upon the collar and nothing on the 

necktie. If a farmer raises on his farm all the 

carbohydrates and fat he 

needs, and which have a 

low commercial value, he 

cannot afiford to buy more 

of the same constituents at 

a price many times higher 

than he can raise the same 

himself. Yet the feeder is 

obliged to do this very 

thing when he purchases 

protein. It cannot be 

helped and it is no one's 

fault. There is a point of 

practical bearing, however, 

in this matter — if you have 

to take carbohydrates and 

fat along with protein and 

pay for them, get as little 

possible carbohydrates and the deep kernel is wanted 

...... „ With large cobs and shal- 

lat m the feeding StUII and low grains the yield is al- 

. , , , . ways smaller than with 

just as much protein as you deep grains and smaller 

can. The aim should be to ^°^^' 
buy the feeding stuf¥ having the highest quantity of 
digestible protein that costs the least for a pound of 
protein. Expressed in a few words a good rule to 
follow is this : To grow all of the carbohydrates and 
fat and not to purchase any; to grow the protein 





CORN KERNELS 
In getting good seed corn 



48 FARM CROPS 

roughages, such as clover, cowpeas and alfalfa, and 
little protein will need to be bought. This is 
economical and practical feeding. It is good farm- 
ing. 

USING JUDGMENT IN GETTING PROTEIN 

In purchasing protein, judgment must be exer- 
cised in selecting the carrier of it. For instance, 
corn is slightly cheaper than bran on the basis of 
total digestible nutrients, but, if for the dairy, bran 
should be purchased rather than corn, because the 
bran contains nearly twice the amount of protein 
that corn does. Cottonseed meal contains just 
about five times as much digestible protein as corn, 
and if the two could be purchased at the same 
price for each pound of digestible nutrients, cotton- 
seed meal would be many times more valuable than 
corn, because of the very much larger quantity of 
protein. 

Roughage materials should be as carefully 
selected as the concentrates. It is often advisable 
to sell one kind of feeding stuff and purchase one 
or more kinds in exchange. It is usually economy 
to sell corn and oats and make an outright purchase 
of cottonseed meal, gluten meal and bran. Often one 
can sell his roughage materials to good advantage 
and secure others that contain more of the con- 
stituents desired, and in so doing the amount of 
concentrated foods can be cut down. 

If the feeder uses corn stover and timothy hay, 
he will necessarily be forced to balance his rations 
with concentrated materials. On the other hand, 
if he uses cowpea hay, alfalfa or clover hay in main 
for roughage, the necessary grain material will be 



WHAT CROPS FOR FEEDING 49 

small. I know markets in which timothy hay is 
sold for $20 a ton and up, while cowpea hay, alfalfa 
and clover sell for $20 a ton and under. You see 
at once that the legume hays are the most eco- 
nomical, for they contain three times as much digest- 
ible protein as timothy. It is to our advantage to 
dispose of the timothy and with the same money 
purchase the legume hays. The saving in corn and 
bran or other concentrates will be clear profit. 

IN BUYING DAIRY FEEDS GET PROTEIN 

Do you remember the old story about paying too 
much for a whistle? Ben Franklin, the Ben of 
Poor Richard, the Ben who did so much for liberty 
and justice in the early days, was responsible for it. 
The purpose of the story you will recall, was to 
point out the folly of extravagance, the folly of 
buying useless things, the folly of making unwise 
selections, the folly of choosing without consider- 
ing the value or need. That tale of our school- 
days has not yet lost its meaning or its force, and 
is especially potent whenever feeding stuffs or fer- 
tilizers are to be purchased. For, after all, when 
we go to market for these things, we do often pay 
too much for the whistles we get. Every time I 
see a dairy farmer setting out for home with a load 
of corn for his cows, I think that he has bought a 
whistle, and has, indeed, paid too much for it. 
Every time fertilizers are purchased, the purchaser 
not having studied their contents nor the nature of 
his land nor the requirements of his crops, my 
thoughts go back to the whistle, and I think, in his 
case, he has likely paid too much for his whistle. 

And now, when feeds are very high, with the 



50 FARM CROPS 

thousands of cattle to be fed with purchased feeds, 
I think of the whistle and wonder how many men 
are paying too much for the ones they have pur- 
chased. Although much has been said and written 
about the feeding of farm animals, the fact re- 
mains, nevertheless, that the purchase of their feed 
is still a sort of a hit or miss affair. Some buy 
without regard to relative merits, some select feeds 
because they are cheap, some use only the old stand- 
ard kinds and some only those at hand and easiest 
to get. To me, however, any one of these methods is 
the purchase of a whistle for which too high a price 
is paid. 

The few things that are already certainly 
known about feeds should never be allowed to get 
away from our minds. I allude especially to their 
composition, the ingredients being protein, the 
muscle and milk makers ; fat and starch, the fat 
and heat makers ; mineral matter, the bone maker ; 
and water, just plain water. Water and mineral 
matter need not concern us, for the reason that they 
are either present in sufficient quantities or can be 
easily provided. The constituents that really con- 
cern us are protein, fat and starch. The ordinary 
crops of the farm contain the latter two, but with 
few exceptions they are deficient In protein. The 
farm, therefore, provides bounteously the fats and 
starches, and is in a sense a big heat factory in 
which is made the constituents for heat, fat and 
energy for live stock. And the farm might be 
made to grow the protein also, if the clovers, alfalfa 
and other legumes were readily taken to heart, as 
they should be. Negligent though we may be 
in regard to home-grown protein, most farmers are 
abundantly provided with carbohydrates and fat. 



WHAT CROPS FOR FEEDING 5 1 

Thus one side of the feeding problem is settled. 
The other side, the protein side, remains unsettled, 
and is the real necessity for the purchase of grains 
and store feeds. And right here is where most 
men pay too much for their whistles. They get 
the wrong feed ; they select one without due regard 
as to what it contains. Now^ mind you, it is pro- 
tein that you want. Why will you buy a food, a 
grain food though it be, and rich in starch, when 
your silo, your haymows, and your corn shocks are 
just fairly bulging out with this constituent already? 
When you do this, you simply haul home what you 
have already in abundance ; you are buying a 
whistle for which you have no need. 

But your real problem is to get protein, to select 
a feed that analyzes high in digestible protein es- 
pecially, and relatively low in all other constituents ; 
and you can do this most wisely only by comparing 
the several feeds on the market and judging them in 
reference to the protein content and the cost of each 
protein unit in the feed. 

Corn and Cottonseed Meal. — Let me use corn 
as an example. You know how excellent corn 
is as a hog food, a horse food, a food for fat- 
tening cattle; it is superior for these purposes, 
because it is rich in starch and fat, and in being so 
makes heat, fat and energy cheaply and abundantly. 
As a milk producer, however, it is inferior, because 
it is deficient in protein, the very constituent so 
needed in dairy rations. Why buy it for dairy 
cows, therefore, if it does not possess the one con- 
stituent you need and are seeking? Is it not better 
to choose another feed, some kind that carries pro- 
tein abundantly? I think so. Indeed, we have 
many foods far superior for milk cows than corn. We 



52 FARM CROPS 

have many that are superior to oats or wheat. We 
have cottonseed meal or gluten meal, linseed oil 
meal and many others. We have many foods on the 
market high in protein and low in starch and fat 
and fiber. 

But for purposes of comparison let us 
take corn and cottonseed meal. Now just note 
these differences. Corn contains 7.9 pounds of 
digestible protein in each 100 of grain, and cotton- 
seed meal 42.6. The first is low in protein, the 
second high. If you purchase in ton lots, the corn 
will give you 158 pounds of digestible protein to 
the ton and cottonseed meal 852 pounds. A vast 
difference, is it not? And the man who rejects the 
one to hold fast to the other because custom has 
prevailed that way, pays a big price for his whistle. 

But someone says that cottonseed meal costs $36 
a ton, while corn is worth but 65 cents a bushel ; 
is not corn the cheaper. Indeed it is not. For 
fattening hogs, corn is ideal ; and for fattening 
horses and cattle it is almost indispensable ; but 
for dairy cows that need the protein the cottonseed 
meal is the cheapest. Let us figure a bit. Corn 
at 65 cents figures about $23.40 a ton ; less, really, 
than the cottonseed meal. Since, however, you are 
after the protein, and a ton of corn contains 158 
pounds of it, the cost of each pound of protein is a 
fraction over 14 cents. In the cottonseed meal you 
get 852 pounds of protein for $^6, or a pound of 
protein for 4.2 cents. Even if you give full credit 
for the fat and starch in both feed for feeding dairy 
cows, the preference must go to the feeding stuff 
carrying the most protein. But the fact is corn 
does not compete with other products as dairy feed 
as it did in former days. Corn is now so greatly 



WHAT CROPS FOR FEEDING 53 

in demand for other purposes that its use in the 
dairy barn is heinj^ replaced by various other kinds 
of concentrates. I have used it here to show the 
importance of a study of the protein content when 
purchased feeding stuffs are sought. The com- 
parisons between corn and cottonseed meal have 
been made for the sole purpose of suggesting what 
every dairyman ought to do when he needs any 
kind of mill feed or any other prepared feed now on 
the market as a concentrate for the feeding of 
dairy cows. 

Now, mind you, your silage, corn stover, hay and 
other home-grown farm feeds will take care of the 
carbohydrate materials — the starches, the fibers, the 
sugars — and the fat. Your problem is to get pro- 
tein, and if you desire to have your cows do their 
best, hence increase your profits, you will obtain 
the feed or feeds that gives you the protein at the 
cheapest cost per pound of digestible material. 
Otherwise you will pay dear for your whistle. 



CHAPTER VI 

What Forage Crops Are Best 

Economy in raising live stock means the produc- 
tion of all roughage materials on the farm. It is 
possible to purchase all roughage material and yet 
make a financial success of growing farm animals, 
but it is not likely; nor is it reasonable or sensible 
to do so. In deciding what forage and grain crops 
to grow, it is well to consider the following: 
I. The crops in relation to soil and climate. 
II. The crops in relation to line of business. 

III. The home production of protein. 

IV. The growing of crops that have power of 

producing the greatest quantity of digest- 
ible dry matter. 
V. Soil improvement in • relation to crops 
grown. 
Crops in Relation to Soil and Climate. — Farm 
crops are not equally adapted to all soils and 
climates. Cottonseed cannot be produced in the 
North because of the cooler and shorter seasons. 
Timothy and blue grass are most productive in cool, 
limestone soils, and cowpeas are more at home in 
warm, dry soils. Nature has been generous, how- 
ever, and has looked after the matter of crops and 
grasses quite carefully. If we but do our part there 
will be no difficulty in providing all roughage ma- 
terials necessary for the successful production of 
live stock. 

Our aim should be to make the best use of what 
we have, to improve by selection and care those 

54 



WHAT FORAGE CROPS ARE BEST 



55 



species best adapted to our soil and climate; and 
by better methods of cultivation, growing- and car- 
ing, secure still greater yields and better returns 
at the cheapest cost of production. 

This does not mean we shall refuse to try new 
plants and endeavor to adapt them to our peculiar 
conditions. If a new plant is found of peculiar 
value to our environments and business, let us 
endeavor to bring it to our service by all means. 
But let us hold on to our old friends till we have 
tried the new and are sure the change is no mistake. 

Crops in Relation to Line of Business. — A farmer 
necessarily becomes a specialist. He gathers those 



iS^^aSMl® 




A SOIL IN NEED OF NITROGEN 

This land was fertilized alike with muriate of potash and 
acid phosphate. The small shock on the left received no 
nitrogen; the shock on the right received a full ration of 
nitrogen and the middle shock a third of a ration of nitrogen. 
The increase due to this element of plant food is very marked. 



classes of animals about him which he likes best 
and finds most profitable. He will do the same 
with the crops for carrying on his business. The 
silo, for instance, is necessary for the highest suc- 
cess in dairying. Succulent food must be furnished 
throughout the year. The silo, then, is the winter 
pasture field. 

Soiling crops should be provided to supplement 
the summer pastures when they become dry and 



56 FARM CROPS 

parched. Fattening cattle need good-sized corn 
fields for stover and grain. The successful farmer 
of today and of the future will have at his hand the 
use of crops and methods for his special, particular 
purpose. The ordinary farmer will go on in the 
same old way and continue to say farming does 
not pay. 

The Home Production of Protein. — The experi- 
ment station has given us positive evidence of the 
importance of protein for all classes of farm animals. 
The gist of the matter is : we have been feeding too 
little protein, because the ordinary farm crops are 
deficient in this constituent and we have found out 
only recently how and where it can be obtained. 
The discovery shows that protein costs money. 
To balance feeding rations properly we have been 
obliged to purchase large quantities of grains and 
concentrates to supply the needed protein. 

To bring the purchased amount of protein down 
to the minimum quantity is one of the most im- 
portant questions before the feeder today. This 
can be done to a very great extent by growing 
those crops having relatively high percentages of 
protein, such as cowpeas, clover, vetches, soy beans 
and alfalfa. There are a few others like these, but 
those named are the most important and two or 
more can be grown readily in every section of our 
country. Alfalfa, cowpeas and clover have already 
been grown in the East, South and West and 
long since have passed the experimental state. Fol- 
lowing is a ration almost wholly home grown and 
furnishes the necessary digestible nutrients in 
proper quantity and proportion for a dairy cow in 
full flow of milk, and costs for an outside purchase 
less than three cents a day for each cow. 



WHAT FORAGE CROPS ARE BEST 57 

HOME GROWN RATION FOR DAIRY COW 



DRY MATTER 


DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS 


Feeding Stuff 




Protein 


Carbohydrates 


Fat 


*Cowpea, Clover or 










Alfalfa hay, 15 lbs. 


._13.50 


1.62 


5.79 


.16 


Corn stover, 10 lbs 


._ 5.95 


.17 


3.24 


.07 


Corn silage, 30 lbs. 


._ 6.27 


.27 


3.39 


.21 


Cottonseed meal, 2 lbs. 


._ 1.87 


.74 


.33 


.24 


Total 


-.27.59 


2.80 


12.75 


.68 



* Figures of the legumes are approximate. 

If timothy hay had been used in place of cowpea 
hay, several pounds of meal and bran would have 
been required to furnish the protein to balance the 
ration, and supply the deficiency in the roughage 
feeding materials. Clover and alfalfa are as nutri- 
tious from the standpoint of protein, and can be 
used in the same way. Every stockman should 
consider well the bearing this fact has upon feed- 
ing, for with it may lie success or failure. He can 
at least be assured that with its practice greater 
profit will result. 

Growing Crops for the Greatest Quantity of 
Digestible Nutrients. — We are prone to call a crop 
a crop without considering its productive capacity. 
This is a mistake; especially when it is not a 
source of protein supply. It should be our policy 
to grow such crops as are heavy producers. When 
we consider the matter in this way we see that one 
acre often produces as many pounds of digestible 
nutrients as two acres of some other crop. The 



58 



FARM CROPS 



following table, arranged by Dr. Jordan, gives us 
a vivid explanation in this respect: 





Field per 


Dry 
Matter 


Dry 


Dry 


Digestible 


Feeding Stuff 


Acre Fresh 
Material 


Matter 
per Acre 


Matter 
Digestible 


Dry Matter 
per Acre 




Pounds 


Per Ct. 


Pounds 


Per Ct. 


Pounds 


Alfalfa 


35,000 


25.0 


8,750 


69 


5,162 


Indian Corn__ 


30,000 


25.0 


7,500 


61 


5,025 


Red Clover. _- 


18,000 


30.0 


5,400 


57 


3,070 


Oats and Peas 


20,000 


16.2 


3,240 


65 


2,106 


Timothy 


11,500 


38.4 


4,416 


57 


2,517 



It is readily seen from the table that alfalfa and 
corn produce nearly twice as much digestible 
nutrients as timothy, which is of considerable im- 
portance, especially when good tillable land is not 
readily available. 

Soil Improvement in Relation to Crops Grown. — 
A good farmer should always be thinking of im- 
proving his soil. This is wise not only for pos- 
terity but immediate crop production as well. 

Crops that may be termed soil depleters should 
be grown as infrequently as possible. Since the 
leguminous crops add nitrogen to the soil and at 
the same time are the best sources for protein sup- 
ply, it follows that they should receive primary at- 
tention in every system of crop rotation. We want 
crops that will furnish the largest quantities of 
needed nutrients and at the same time that will 
improve the soil. The clovers, the cowpea and al- 
falfa will be more extensively grown in the future 
and will occupy a much more important place in 
every system of farming than is now accorded them. 



WHAT FORAGE CROPS ARE BEST 59 

THE WORK THE LEGUMES DO 

Farming in a broad way, to be successful, must 
be built upon the legumes. The tiller of the soil 
must become a legume farmer. It matters not 
what line of farming you pursue, whether you grow 
crops as cash crops or live stock for the money 
income, the farming lands must be productive and 
more than average yields obtained if you are to go 
far in your enterprise. With poor crops there will 
be poor stock; or if the crops are sold and they be 
poor, the money income will be small. 

From what has been said, it is evident that to 
grow crops successfully the lands must be fertile ; 
they must contain much humus ; they must be in 
proper physical condition to rid themselves of ex- 
cessive water or to hold enough for seasons of 
drouth and there must be the elements of plant 
food in abundance. Of the elements of plant food 
those most frequently lacking are nitrogen, phos- 
phorus and potassium. The phosphorus and potas- 
sium being minerals they must come from the soil 
or from fertilizers artificially applied. The same 
is true of nitrogen, but in this case the farmer has 
an advantage because he can grow his nitrogen ; 
the legumes will store it in the soil. The free nitro- 
gen of the air, you know, is not available plant food, 
yet the greater part of the air is nitrogen. No 
agricultural plant of itself can secure this air ele- 
ment — not a wee bit of it. 

The secret about the legumes was revealed about 
1886 when Hellriegel and Wilfarth showed the con- 
nection that bacteria have to nitrogen addition to 
the soil. This secret is concerned with the root 
tubercles that are to be found on the roots of the 



60 FARM CROPS 

legumes. The clovers, cowpeas, vetches and alfalfa 
are all legumes. The tubercles are little, knotted, 
wartlike growths on the roots of these plants, and 
are caused by bacteria or germs as they are some- 
times called. Instead of living in nests in trees like 
birds, or in the ground like moles or worms, these 
tiny germs, so small you can't see them with a 
microscope, make their homes in the roots of these 
plants. Nestling snugly together they live, grow 
and multiply in their sunless homes. 

Through their activity the soil is enriched by the 
addition of much nitrogen from the air. Just as 
bees gather honey from the flowers and carry it to 
the hives where they are prepared for it for their 
long future use and for the use of others, so do 
these root tubercles gather nitrogen in the air and 
fix it in their root homes where it can be used by 
other crops. Just as soon as the roots of legumin- 
ous plants begin to push down into the soil the 
bacteria or germs that make the tubercles begin to 
build their homes in the roots, and in so doing they 
add nitrogen to the soil. 

You now see the importance of growing such 
crops as peas and clover on your land, for by their 
aid you can constantly add plant food to the soil. 
Now this much needed nitrogen is the most costly 
part of the fertilizers that farmers buy every year. 
If every farmer, then, would grow these tubercle- 
bearing crops he would readily add to the richness 
of his land, and at the same time would also escape 
the necessity of buying so much expensive fer- 
tilizer. 

One important thing about getting nitrogen 
through the legumes is to have the soil in good 
condition. The farmer must not only be able to 



WHAT FORAGE CROPS ARE BEST 6l- 

induce bacteria to visit his lands and to work there 
in conjunction with the legumes, but he must make 
the new homes so comfortable and satisfactory 
that they will be willing to stay. You can even 
scatter them over your lands, but if the soil is sour 
and disagreeable they will die. A soil that is filled 
with stagnant water is not good for them, and soils 
that are hard, compact and dead do not attract them. 
And then, the same legume will not do for all crops. 
Clover bacteria have no liking for alfalfa or cowpea 
roots, nor have the cowpea bacteria any liking for 
the clover or alfalfa roots. 

If you have been growing clover year after year 
and have not admitted any alfalfa bacteria you will 
likely fail if you attempt to grow alfalfa unless the 
land is inoculated with this special kind of bacteria. 
This means that to grow different legumes the 
bacteria associated with each particular legume 
must be secured. This calls for inoculation of the 
land, and even after the land has been inoculated 
the bacteria may not be thoroughly acclimated 
during the first year. When trying a legume 
for the first time you must give it a good 
chance. If it fails to meet your expectation, do 
not despair. Refrain from blaming the legume, 
and do not blame the bacteria. Just repeat the ex- 
periment on the same land ; give both time to join 
hands, to become acquainted, to adjust their char- 
acters to suit each other's peculiarities ; and be par- 
ticular also to give the bacteria time to increase and 
to multiply and to fill the land with their kind — 
then the work will be done with effectiveness and to 
your profit and advantage. 

Three ways of Introducing bacteria to the soil 
are as follows: By introducing the soil from a 



62 FARM CROPS 

field known to contain the desired bacteria to the 
field where a crop is to be planted ; by soaking seed 
in water in which soil from a field where the legume 
has been successfully grown has been stored; by 
means of pure cultures and of specific organisms 
suited to the legume. 

If soil be used it should be taken from some field 
that is free of undesirable weeds. In getting the 
soil it is best to go down where the roots grow; 
somewhere between 2 and 6 inches from the sur- 
face. This can be scattered directly over a field 
or it may be mixed with the seed. Anywhere from 
200 to 500 pounds to the acre will do. If the field 
be in good condition, a small quantity will leaven 
the entire mass. On the other hand, if the soil is 
bad physically, a larger quantity may be better. 
In any case get this material well distributed. 

The pure cultures have been worked out success- 
fully and are now available. In selecting legumes 
the nature of the soil should be considered. Sandy 
soils are not attractive to clover. Cowpeas and soy 
beans will grow in these sandy soils very satisfac- 
torily. Give the sandy soils over to these crops 
and save the clover for the more loamy areas. So, 
too, if you want a permanent legume, let clover or 
alfalfa be selected. In inoculating the land you 
can always be sure that inoculation will be desir- 
able if a small amount of humus is in the soil, if 
the previously grown legumes lack nodules or if the 
legume is used for the first time. Inoculation will 
help when crops grow poorly although some nodules 
are present. Inoculation is never needed when 
there is already an abundance of nodules to be 
found on the plants, or when the soil is already 
supplied abundantly with nitrogen. 



CHAPTER VII 

Growing Crops for Succulence 

Farm stock relish succulent feeds. They give 
the best account of themselves v^hen abundantly 
supplied with pastures or roots or green crops. 
This is true, not only of cattle, but of hogs, sheep, 
swine and poultry. Animal life has been so long 
adjusted to succulence and vegetable juices that to 
withhold these for any length of time is to invite 
loss along all lines of production ; nor do animals 
thrive so well when these are withheld. When 
spring comes with its rejuvenating influences mani- 
fested in all directions, farm stock eagerly leave 
their dry foods, however rich in nutrition they may 
be, and revel in the green grasses along the road- 
side or in the pasture field. You are familiar with 
the result — better quality, more thrifty growth, 
more meat, more milk. 

Taking the year all around, good pastures are not 
available for any great length of time ; hence where 
well-bred farm animals are appreciated, an im- 
portant problem in farm management arises as to 
the best method of extending the pasture season 
as long as possible. Succulent food may be pro- 
vided by pasture, soiling crops, silage and root 
crops. They may be just a bit inferior to May and 
June grazing, but as substitutes they satisfactorily 
fill the bill. Good silage, after all, is but slightly 
inferior to green corn. Soiling crops are next best 
to grasses, and roots for fall and winter are not to 
be despised. 

63 • 



64 FARM CROPS 

GOOD PASTURES ARE ALWAYS POPULAR 

The testimony of dairymen is undeniably and 
emphatically in favor of silage, soiling crops and 
similar feeds to take the place of pasture, because 
they keep the milk yield constant. Some even 
claim that these feeds are in every way equal to 
rich pastures. Where lands are high in value and 
limited in quantity, the growing soiling crops often 
displace the pasture system. Some who follow 
the practice claim that the plan is even more satis- 
factory and far less costly. And roots, even for 
the dairy, but especially for all breeding stock, are 
indispensable. Horses without carrots, sheep with- 
out turnips; Hamlet without the ghost! 

Pastures will, no doubt, long remain important 
in all sections where live stock are grown. Though 
it is true that the pasture system calls for at least 
twice the number of acres that are necessary where 
the soiling system is followed, it must be remem- 
bered that with pastures less labor is required, less 
attention is needed for looking after the stock, and 
the items of detail, incidental to soiling, do not 
arise. For these reasons permanent pastures are to 
be desired ; in fact, they will be increased and made 
better. Where lands are exceptionally high in 
value, the reason for the soiling system becomes 
manifest at once ; but where lands are cheap, there 
is no reason why the pasture should not be em- 
ployed in the cheap production of pork or beef, or 
why it should not enter very largely into the pro- 
duction of dairy products. 

I believe in permanent pastures, but I believe in 
good pastures. They are worthy of more attention 
than they have received. If they have not done 



GROWING CROPS FOR SUCCULENCE 65 

their work well, it is because their owners have 
given them too little attention. To merit praise 
they must give much grazing and constant graz- 
ing; all of which applies to the permanent pasture. 
The temporary pasture occurs only as a feature of 
short rotations, as when grain crops are raised. 
It is really an incident rather than a first considera- 
tion; being such, you do not expect the highest 
development of grass and turf, both of which are 
basic features of the permanent pasture. 



RAPE FOR SUPPLEMENTING PASTURES 

On the other hand, the poor pasture field may be 
supported by the use of supplementary crops, fore- 
most among which is rape — an admirable food for 
sheep and swine and valuable for cattle also. Rape 
is a sort of cabbage, and instead of storing its 
nutriment in the head as the cabbage does, the rape 
plant distributes its nutriment throughout the 
leaves. It fancies most the moist, cool places and 
a rather fertile soil. When so favored it really 
gives a very large amount of food. It is sufficiently 
rich in nutriment to maintain all body needs, but is 
not quite able of itself to make large gains of growth 
or fat. When supplemented with grain, it becomes 
a very satisfactory green fodder crop. 

You can sow rape any time between March and 
July, either broadcast or in drills 3 feet apart, using 
3 or 4 pounds of seed an acre and slightly cover- 
ing it. When grazed down, remove your stock 
and allow time enough for a second crop. 

Within recent years the use of soiling crops has 
increased. The unsatisfactory results from pas- 



66 



FARM CROPS 



tures during the late summer months, especially 
for dairy cows, have given popularity to 
the soiling system. Employed in connection with 
the silo, it is possible to get the effect of green 

crops throughout the year. 
Briefly, the plan means that 
instead of depending upon 
pastures, fodder is cut green 
and fed to cattle in the feed 
lot or in the stable, thus 
doing away with fences and 
extensive areas, such as are 
necessary with pastures. 
There is a saving, because 
no part of the forage is 
tramped upon nor destroyed 
by animals running at large 
over the fields. The small 
area given to soiling crops 
allows more intensive till- 
age, better fertilizing and 




ORCHARD GRASS IN 
BLOOM 



more thorough cultivation. 



I like the soiling system be- 
cause it is extremely valuable, even where pastures 
are much in use. Rye, peas, oats and green corn 
always come in handy ; and they often bridge over 
dry periods when pastures either are short or are 
dry and withered. 

SOILING CROPS HAVE A PLACE 



Starting with soiling crops in order of their use, 
we have rye as the first aid. In the South it is 
ready in March and in the North in April. It 



GROWING CROPS FOR SUCCULENCE 67 

should be seeded in August or September in the 
North and in September or October in the South. 
When thus planted it is ready early in the spring, 
long before ordinary pastures are available or be- 
fore clover or wheat can be used. 

Alfalfa Ranks Best. — I like alfalfa as a soiling 
crop; in fact, it is by all odds the best. If you 
have learned the secret of growing alfalfa you have 
a treasure indeed, so valuable as to be almost im- 
possible of estimation. If alfalfa has not blest you 
as yet, then oats and peas, to be followed by cow- 
peas, sorghum, corn and other green crops, should 
be accorded places in the list. The oats and peas 
should go in early ; cover the peas 3 or 4 inches 
deep, one bushel to the acre ; the oats a less depth 
and about 2 bushels to the acre. Inasmuch as 
oats fancy the cool seasons rather than the warm 
weather, the earlier they are seeded in the spring 
the better. Field peas also withstand a surpris- 
ingly large amount of cold weather. Cowpeas and 
sorghum are warm weather crops and should go in 
after corn ; any time, say, between May 25 and 
July I. 

Green Corn for Summer. — I am a great believer 
in corn for all farm purposes and depend upon it 
constantly as a soiling crop for July and August — 
the dry seasons — even when not particularly in- 
terested in milk. T find it is always advisable to 
have a couple or more acres of corn as a reserve 
crop for late summer feeding. Every animal on 
the farm relishes a few stalks of green corn at night 
or morning when the ]")astures are dry and hot. 

Suppose you devote two or three acres particu- 
larly adapted to early corn planting just as early 
as you can. The soil may be more sandy and 



68 FARM CROPS 

hence warmer; it may be higher than the rest of 
the farm, hence drier. After being well tilled and 
fertilized, put in the corn. Plant the corn in rows 
3/^ to 4 feet apart, dropping grains 3 or 4 inches 
apart in the rows. Give this corn the same cul- 
tivation and care as later you will give to your 
regular crop. In any section, by the latter part of 
June or early in July you will have on hand a lot 
of green forage to help along in case your pastures 
go back on you. 

If you do not need this green fodder in early 
summer, just let it alone ; it will continue its grow- 
ing and will make a still heavier growth. With it 
at hand you need have no fear of a shrinkage in 
milk, because a few armfuls of this green corn as 
a feed, used as a supplement to the pasture or 
silage or other food, will complete the ration and 
supply your stock with just what is needed. The 
patch of corn, its size depending upon the number 
of animals you have, will carry you until the silage 
crop is ready, or if you do not have the silo, carry 
you into the fall season, when your winter plans 
for feeding will handle the case. 

ROOT CROPS NOT TO BE LEFT OUT 

The farmer pays little or no attention to roots, 
but they are worthy of some attention, for they 
stand high as succulent and supplementary feeds. 
You cannot value roots solely by the nutriment 
they contain. They aid in digestion and assimila- 
tion of dry foods and contribute to the healthful- 
ness of all animals so fortunate as to get them. If 
fruits are of value, if not a necessity, to men, then 



GROWING CROPS FOR SUCCULENCE 69 

roots and grasses have a place in feeding farm 
animals. 

Carrots. — These may be fed to horses and sheep, 
sugar beets and turnips to dry cattle and lambs, and 
dairy cattle and hogs relish them all. To withhold 
succulence, Nature's great provision of thrift and 
health, is to lessen profits. Ask the man who uses 
these crops; the horse breeder where carrots are 
known ; the shepherd who knows his sheep and 
succeeds with them ; the cattle breeder who has 
learned of the value of roots for health and appetite. 
The testimony as given is generally in favor of roots 
or of succulent substitutes. 

Carrots are slightly harder to grow than beets, but 
they are the best feed. Sow the seed in rows about 
23^ feet apart. The rows should be ridged slightly, 
as this facilitates their culture. It is better, per- 
haps, to sow rather thickly, so as to insure a good 
stand. When the young plants are a few inches 
high, harrow the ground with a light harrow for 
weed destruction and for thinning purposes. It 
will require only a hasty going over to put the 
carrot patch in shape to destroy weeds and 
leave the plants 6 to 8 inches apart. A horse cul- 
tivator will complete the work. The large stock 
varieties are, of course, to be preferred to the fine 
grained — the garden kind. 

Turnips are cultivated in the same way, but they 
come later in the season. From June to Septem- 
ber will be range sufficient for your climate and 
environment. The Swede variety should be 
selected. Turnips may be vsown broadcast, but for 
large yields the row method is preferred. Mangels 
are grov/n with the least difficulty, but they are not 
so good as carrots or turnips. Sow them in the 



70 



FARM CROPS 



Spring" rather thickly, and then thin, farther apart 
than turnips. For sheep, roots are ahiiost indis- 
pensable. 

CORN THE BEST SILAGE CROP 



Silage is pre-eminently adapted to dairy cows, 
and is frequently used for sheep and other farm 

animals. In planning a 
silo figure on remov- 
ing at least i^ to 2 
inches of the silage 
surface each day in 
order to prevent loss 
from spoiling. From 30 
to 35 pounds of silage 
a day, combined with 
hay and grain, is con- 
sidered by most dairy- 
men as a satisfactory 
ration for dairy cows. 
Essentials of a Good 
, , , . Silo. — First, it must be 

The succulent nature of man- 11. 

gels makes them of use primarily made deep m Order 

for feeding to cows. They are ^, . ^, .. 

best used in furnishing a pala- that the Silage may 

table succulent food in winter to « , .. ,, 

supplement the dry hays and paCK ClOWn SOlldly. 

grains, thus keeping the stock in t-u„-^ clir>iiM ht* q 

good appetite and form. ^ nere bnouia ue a 

depth of at least 24 
feet. Satisfactory silos, however, may be built 
with a depth of only 20 feet or even less. Second, 
the walls should be made vertical and perfectly 
smooth, so the silage may rest evenly on all sides. 
There should be as few corners as possible, since 
the greatest loss occurs in spoiling in corners. 
Third, square, wooden silos should have the cor- 




YELLOW GLOBE MANGEL 



GROWING CROPS FOR SUCCULENCE 7 1 

ners boarded across, and the inside sheathing 
should run perpendicular at the bottom. Fourth, 
the inside walls of stone, brick or cement silos 
should have a final dressing of portland cement. 
Fifth, silos should be located where it will be most 
convenient to feed from. 

Calculating Size of Silo. — The size of the silo to 
build may be determined in any particular case 
from the following data : A cubic foot of well- 
packed silage will weigh on the average between 35 
and 40 pounds, and this is about the amount that 
should be fed daily to a dairy cow. If it is neces- 
sary to feed cows for six months, or 160 days, one 
cow will consume 180 cubic feet, or about 2,j^ tons 
of silage. A herd of ten cows would consume 35 
tons. However, there is always some loss by spoil- 
ing and waste, so it would be better to figure on 
about 40 tons. 

One acre of corn should yield 10 to 15 tons of 
silage to the acre. The number of tons of silage 
that a square or rectangular silo will hold may be 
determined roughly by multiplying the length, 
width and depth of the silo in feet, and dividing 
by 50, the approximate number of cubic feet in a 
ton of silage. A round silo 15 feet in diameter 
and 20 feet deep will hold about 60 tons. The 
same silo 25 feet deep will hold 80 tons. A round 
silo 20 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep will hold a 
little more than 140 tons. 

FILLING THE SILO 

Nowadays the corn binder is desirable for cutting 
silage corn. It saves the expense of several men 
and makes loading and unloading more economical 



72 FARM CROPS 

and less fatiguing and irksome. One man with a 
low wagon and rack can in a few minutes secure 
his load, all that a two or three-horse team can 
draw. It is most convenient to take two or three 
rows at a time. It is necessary, therefore, that the 
binder be at work for some time in order that the 
hauling and cutting crews may not be delayed for 
want of corn. 

The work in the silo, however, is the most im- 
portant of all operations connected with silage 
making. Really good silage depends largely upon 
the faithfulness, constant tramping and the " ever- 
lastingly at it " of the man in the silo. Let him 
shirk, or do his work poorly, and you will get less 
corn in the silo and less quality in the product. 
Many of the criticisms directed against the silo 
belong, not to it, but to the man within, who was 
either lazy and irresponsible, or who did not know 
what was expected of him or how to do what was 
required of him. 

This part of silage making is of such great im- 
portance that I have found it necessary to look 
carefully after it myself. If your silage has been 
of off quality in the past, go into the silo yourself 
next year and put the " pick-up " help at some 
other kind of work. 

To thoroughly and continually pack the silage 
as fast as it falls into the silo and to pitch and 
tramp it all about the outer edges is the secret of 
making good silage. Look after the packing well 
at the outside, then the center will take care of 
itself. It is this thorough packing that rids the 
silo of air spaces around which decay later is found 
to have taken place. 

It is more difficult to pack the square silo. Hence 



GROWING CROPS FOR SUCCULENCE 73 

the least carelessness here represents some loss in 
winter. In doing effective packing, keep the outer 
edges a little higher than the center, but keep 
tramping and packing all the time. This will force 
the air out as the filling process goes on. 

PRESERVING ROOT CROPS IN PITS 

Many, in their desire to have roots safely stored 
for winter, overdo the matter. They like to make 
as short a job of it as possible, and as soon as the 
crop can be dug, the roots are placed in a heap, 
covered with straw and then enough earth is put 
on them to prevent freezing in the severest winter 
weather. This is a great mistake, and many pits 
are lost because of this overprotection. It is very 
desirable to avoid storing large quantities of roots 
in the cellars of dwelling houses. Consequently, 
where no separate storage place is available, pitting 
outside is the best plan. 

Gather the roots after they have been dug and 
sufficient time has elapsed to allow them to dry off. 
Place in oblong heaps in a high spot in the field so 
that good drainage is possible, cover with straw 
and a few inches of earth so that moderate frost 
and the slight freeze of early winter will not injure 
the roots, and dig a trench around the base of the pit 
so that water will not stand. Where the water rises 
near the surface during the wet period, it is best 
to place the roots on the top of the ground, as sug- 
gested above. However, if there is good drainage 
there is no reason why an excavation cannot be 
made 6 feet wide and about a foot deep, and as long 
as necessary. Begin by carefully stacking the roots, 
filling the first 2 feet of the trench. This will form 



74 FARM CROPS 

the first section ; leave a space of about 6 inches 
then put in another section, and so on. Round up 
the top, fill the 6 inches of space between the heaps 
with straw and cover the whole with straw and i8 
or more inches of soil. 

This plan requires much less work in covering 
and is in reality a series of small pits, each distinct. 
The tubers keep better in this way, and as only one 
section at a time need be opened there is less lia- 
bility to waste than if the pit were a large one con- 
taining the entire crop. In some sections of the 
country the covering or soil must be 2 or 3 feet 
deep to prevent freezing. 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Silo, Silage and Soiling Crops 

The silo does for live stock what fruit cans and 
fruit jars do for men. One knows a tomato will 
quickly decay if not put in the fruit jar where it 
can be sealed so as to prevent the entrance of bac- 
teria. The silo is a large pit that holds cut-up 
corn or other forage and keeps it succulent and 
prevents the maturity of the plant cells. 

The object of the silo is to keep the forage as 
near the green state as possible. To this fact lies 
the noted value of silage. As we like during win- 
ter an apple that has been stored away in the 
cellar in preference to a dried one, so live stock 
relish, in the same degree, the corn plant if kept 
as nearly in the green state as possible. No matter 
how nutritive a feeding stufiF is, if the animal does 
not like it, it usually is a failure as a milk or meat 
producer. Of course, no one claims that silage 
contains greater feeding value than the cured 
product. A silo has nothing about it to make more 
protein or carbohydrates or fat. But the juice is 
there, the flavor is there, as is also the effect of 
freshness and greenness. 

ECONOMY IN SILAGE 

There is great economy in silage in the fact 
that a larger part of the product is eaten. If the 
dry corn plant is fed, for instance, the ear and leaves 
are the only parts consumed. Fully half the feed- 

75 



76 



FARM CROPS 



ing value is lost. If, however, this be put in the 
silo, every particle is eaten. The feeding value 
is really doubled. The silo then assists the feeder 
in taking care of a larger number of animals from 







A GOOD SILO 

The silo is not only a cheap means for storing food, but 
it keeps whatever is placed in it fresh and succulent and ap- 
petizing. Where high-grade animals are kept, the silo is 
desirable. Thousands of silos are added to the equipment of 
farms each year. 

a given area than otherwise would be possible if 
only the dry product were fed. 

Another point in economy lies in the storage of 
the feeding stuff. A silo is cheaply constructed 



THE SILO, SILAGE AND SOILING CROPS 



17 



and holds an immense quantity of forage that is 
always at hand where feeding is to be done. Thus 
the labor for winter feeding is materially lessened. 
Wherever high-class beef animals are raised or 
profitable dairying is carried on, there the silo is 
found and its highest and best use employed. 

CAPACITY OF SILOS 

The following table, by King, gives the capacity 
of round silos at different depths and with varying 
inside diameters: 



FEET 
.DEPTH 


INSIDE DIAMETER IN FEED 




15 


18 


20 


25 


20 


58.8 


84.7 


104.6 


163.4 


21 


62.9 


90.6 


111.8 


174.7 


22 


67.4 


%.8 


119.6 


186.8 


23 


71.7 


103.3 


127.5 


199.3 


24 


76.1 


109.6 


135.3 


211.5 


25 


80.6 


116.1 


143.3 


223.9 


26 


85.5 


123.0 


151.9 


237.4 


27 


90.2 


129.8 


100.3 


250.5 


28 


95.0 


136.8 


168.9 


263.9 


29 


99.9 


143.9 


177.6 


277.6 


30 


05.0 


151.1 


186.6 


291.6 


31 


109.8 


158.2 


195.6 


305.1 


32 


115.1 


165.7 


204.6 


319.6 



78 FARM CROPS 

FEEDING SILAGE 

The quantity of silage fed depends somewhat on 
the kind of forage used. Silage made of clover, 
cowpeas or alfalfa contains more protein than one 
made of corn. If either of the former be used, from 
15 to 20 pounds will be sufficient for a daily feed. 
On the other hand, if corn is used, from 25 to 50 
pounds can be fed, 30 to 40 pounds being a good 
average. Silage can be fed once or twice each day. 
If a small quantity is used in the daily ration, the 
feeder should give silage but once ; a larger quan- 
tity will require two feedings. 

The feeding should be regular, that is, every day, 
so as to keep the top of the silo fed ofif to keep from 
spoiling. One or 2 inches from the whole of the 
top will prevent any decay. Feeding in the stall 
should be done just after milking, otherwise the 
odor may be observed in the milk. The grain can 
be fed either in connection with or just before feed- 
ing the silage. 

CROPS FOR SILAGE 

There are only a few crops that can be success- 
fully used for silage. The great silo crop is corn ; 
and so much so that whenever silo is spoken one 
invariably thinks of corn silage. Clover is also 
ensiled with a fair degree of success. Peas mixed 
with corn are also good, and alfalfa to some extent. 
Any crop having a hollow stem generally makes 
poor silage because of the air stored with the crop. 
There is also little reason for using crops that are 
easily cured in the field, like the grasses and hays. 



THE SILO, SILAGE AND SOILING CROPS 



79 



DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN IMPORTANT 
SILAGE CROPS 





Dry Matter 
in 100 pounds 


DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS 


IN 100 LBS. 


Feeding Stuff 


Protein 


Carbohydrates 


Fat 


Corn silage 


20.9 


0.9 


11.3 


0.7 


Clover 


28.0 

27.5 
20.7 


2.0 
3.0 

1.5 


13.5 
8.5 
8.6 


1.0 


Alfalfa 


1.9 


Cowpea 


0.9 


Soja Bean 


25.8 


2.7 


8.7 


1.3 



SOILING CROPS 



The production of green crops to supplement 
summer pasture is more or less a necessity for the 
highest success in dairying. The milk flow cannot 
be maintained upon withered or dry pastures. The 
winter feeding of dairy cows has been made a 
success by the use of the silo. But ordinarily 
silage is used up by the end of winter and none 
is left for feed during the summer. Perhaps this 
is better after all; a change in the feed of dairy 
cows is as necessary as for ourselves. It is true 
also that with spring come good, fresh pastures, 
green, succulent and nutritious. Where is a better 
place, then, for milch cows than in such a pasture 
field? 

Summer feeding would be simple if the pastures 
remained fresh and green until silage comes again. 
We all know that with July and August come also 
the hot winds and dry weather, and with them dry 
pastures and marked decrease in milk flow. This 



So FARM CROPS 

can be wholly remedied by soiling crops, and at 
little expense to the owner. Where one has pas- 
ture for spring and early summer feeding, the soil- 
ing problem is simple indeed. 

CORN THE BASIS FOR SOILING 

No dairyman or feeder can get along without 
corn. It is the main crop for the silo or for soil- 
ing. It should be the practice to plant, as early 
as weather conditions permit, a small area of corn 
for soiling purposes. One can always select a 
small area that is early ready for the plow, and on 
this manure should be put and disked well into the 
soil. An application of commercial fertilizer can 
also be added if the soil is not as rich as it should 
be for the purpose. Plant the corn when the soil 
is thoroughly prepared and when you are reason- 
ably sure the frosts are over. 

The corn should be planted so as to produce the 
largest quantity of forage. For soiling purposes 
you are not expecting ears. A thick seeding is 
best. Plant in rows 36 to 40 inches apart and a 
grain every 3 or 4 inches. Harrow soon after 
planting to destroy weeds which are abundant at 
that time. Then cultivate frequently during the 
rest of the time. By the last of June you have 
green corn ready for stock. If your pastures are 
light, begin to feed a little corn every day and then 
gradually increase as needed. 

As the corn is cut off, disk up the land and fol- 
low with cowpeas. This can be done every two or 
three weeks, and a crop of cowpeas for soiling or 
hay can be obtained the same season. A year's 



THE SILO, SILAGE AND SOILING CROPS 8l 

experience with soiling will show the feeder the 
great value of this practice. 

SOILING TO TAKE THE PLACE OF 
PASTURE 

Where soiling crops are to take the place of pas- 
ture, preparation must be made the previous year. 
By this is meant a crop must be sown the previous 
fall to furnish an early crop in the spring. 

Rye is better for this than any other crop. It 
grows all winter and shoots up early in the spring 
and is ready to be fed before the silage is well gone. 
A small acreage of rye will furnish green food for 
a month. By this time the clover field is ready 
for two or four weeks' feeding. Then you can turn 
in the feed lot, which should be five or six acres in 
size for 30 or 40 cattle. With a little of the clover 
hay that has just been made or some of the holdover 
hay of last year that was provided for this purpose, 
to be fed in connection with the pasture in the feed 
lot, you are provided with green food until the 
early planted corn is ready for the daily feeding. 

Nothing is lost by the practice of soiling. If 
you have too much rye, the surplus can be cut and 
put in the silo and fed along during the summer; 
the surplus clover can be made into hay; the same 
can be done with cowpeas; and any excess of corn 
can be put in the silo. 

ROTATION FOR SOILING CROPS 

As soon as the rye is taken off, the rye land 
should be plowed and planted to corn and cowpeas; 
the early cut corn should be either seeded to cow- 



82 FARM CROPS 

peas or to crimson clover, and cowpea land to rye. 
This rotation gives soiling crops, silage crops and 
hay crops; a leguminous crop each year to add 
nitrogen to the soil ; and a cultivated crop each 
rotation to kill out the weeds and to change un- 
available plant food into available plant food. All 
manure made by the herd is added to the soil either 
in fall or winter, or in both. A practice like this 
brings up the soil in a very short time. 

ADVANTAGES OF SOILING 

Smaller Area Needed. — Where pasturing is fol- 
lowed, from two to five acres are required for fur- 
nishing necessary feeding stuflfs for each animal a 
year. It is generally conceded by all who have 
followed soiling that three-quarters to an acre and 
a half will furnish the yearly food supply for a 
mature animal. 

Fewer Fences Needed. — The only fences needed 
with soiling is for the feed lots. This is a saving 
of land where fences would be put ; a saving of 
capital otherwise invested in fences ; and a saving 
in labor in keeping fences clean and repaired. 

No Food Destroyed by Tramping. — The tramp- 
ing of cattle over pasture lands not only destroys 
considerable food, but it compacts the soil, es- 
pecially during wet weather, and greatly damages 
the physical condition of the soil. As much as a 
third or half of the pastures are injured by tramp- 
ing over them. 

Less Acreage Required. — If one lives near a 
city where lands are more valuable, the investment 
in acres is a matter of considerable Importance. 
The practice of soiling enables the dairyman to do 



THE SILO, SILAGE AND SOILING CROPS 83 

on half the number of acres what would be re- 
quired if pasturing were followed. 

Soil Improvement More Readily Obtained. — 
Since one needs but half the area by following 
soiling methods, it readily suggests a larger quan- 
tity of manure by this system. This means farm- 
ing in an intensive way and insures greater pro- 
ductivity of land and larger crops with each suc- 
cessive year. 

OBJECTIONS TO THE PRACTICE OF 
SOILING 

The one objection to soiling is in the extra labor 
in growing and feeding the crops. By pasturing, 
labor is needed only in taking cattle to and from 
the pasture fields. The necessary extra labor is, 
however, a matter of small importance when con- 
sidered in the light of the many advantages of the 
system. 

Soiling Best Adapted to Dairying. — While soil- 
ing is possible for all classes of live stock, it is 
peculiarly a system for the dairy farmer. The 
food is better because of freshness and succulence ; 
labor is always available ; and the greater profits 
permit greater care and attention that the highest 
success may be attained. 



CHAPTi^R IX 

Every Farmer a Plant Breeder 

Much attention has been given to the breeding 
of animals. As a result greater efficiency has been 
secured, even though scrub animals do still exist. 
In a general way, too, farm crops have been im- 
proved. But the rules of breeding and selection 
have not been as consistently indulged in with 
plants as with domestic animals. We have rather 
carelessly selected our wheat and corn — have 
selected our farm crops without any special search 
for the individuals that yield the heaviest or that 
give the most profitable returns. 

Seed selection has come into the limelight in 
recent years ; with some crops great progress has 
been made. From the crab apple has come the 
improved apple; by selection many classes and 
varieties of apples today are larger, more nutritious 
and more appetizing. The florist has taken some 
of the most common flowers and by crossing and 
selecting has developed improved varieties of 
superior usefulness and beauty. He has taken 
other varieties and by cross-fertilization and hybrid- 
ization has established new types and new forms 
that dififer widely from the original stock. Today 
these occupy places peculiar to themselves. 

Seed selection is nothing more than the breeding 
and selecting of those forms best adapted to their 
environment and which, in addition, produce the 
most at harvest time. The propaganda for plant 
improvement seeks to give field crops the same 

84 



EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 



8s 



devotion that the orchard, the garden and the 
flower crops have had. The same principles that 
apply to animal breeding apply to plant breeding. 

THE KEYNOTE OF PLANT BREEDING 

Patience and skill are required in the breeding 
of plants. You must know what characters ought 
to be developed and what ones ought to be sup- 




IMPROVING COTTON 

The cotton fiber has been lengthened by continuous care in 
selection. Since the length of the fiber adds to its value, 
selection in this direction is vitally important and should not 
be neglected by any cotton grower. 

pressed. The common plan of guessing is never 
conducive to improvement. The average yield of 
corn or wheat will be raised very little indeed if 
the crib or granary is depended upon for seed. To 
get the offspring of the choicest plants the parents 
must be observed as they grow in the fields. Sup- 
pose you go into a corn field about the time the 
field is ripening. You will note many superior 
Individual plants ; not only may the plant itself 
be superior, but the ear often w^ill show great 
superiority over the common lot of the field. Your 



86 



FARM CROPS 



own experience has taught you that most of 
the corn plants are alike. A few, however, are 
very good and a few are very poor. The latter 
should, of course, be rejected just as the scrub pig 
or the scrub calf is rejected. Neither will the aver- 
age lot attract you ; you are not seeking the aver- 
age plants. Your aim is 
to find the best possible in 
the field ; those that possess 
vigor, vitality, strength, 
big broad leaves, and heavy 
ears. These superior plants 
in the corn field should be 
marked ; and at harvest 
time you will know them. 
These are to be set apart 
ior the next year's planting. 
With wheat you should 
do the same. At harvest 
time select the heads of 
wheat that are largest and 
heaviest, and that show 
superiority over the aver- 
age in the field. It is these 
heavier, stronger, more per- 
fect ears and grains that 
possess quality, good blood. 
By using them for seed 
the entire crop is greatly 
increased. 

And the same plan is 
open to the cotton farmer. 




SIX EARS TO THE STALK 



When corn is bred to pro- 
duce two or more large ears -f . jihiji 

to the stalk, the yield will In going over the held he 

pfanTplcLi-erSIre^- I. '"re- finds COtton Stalks Well 

SaughTtt "^' ^^ "'*' "^"'^''^ filled with bolls. On the 



EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 



87 




same soil and under the same conditions of growth 
and cultivation he finds cotton stalks poorly filled 
with small bolls. If the cotton be picked through- 
out the field and at the gin the seed be secured, there 
is no way to know from which plants the seed has 
come. Since more plants of the common kind were 
present, it is not unlikely that by getting seed at 
the gin a preponderance of seed from the inferior 
plants will prevail 
and no improve- 
ment will be pos- 
sible at all. On the 
other hand, if the 
cotton farmer seeks 
the superior plants 
in the field, and re- 
jects all that are 
average or below 
the average, a short 
time only will be 
necessary in order 
to greatly improve 
the crop yield. This same principle of selection ap- 
plies to potatoes, oats, barley, to forage and fiber 
plants, and to all other plants raised for profit or 
pleasure. The real secret of plant improvement is 
cleared up when field selection of seed is begun. 
There is no mystery about plant breeding, nor is it 
something only for the scientist or the experiment 
station man ; it is the work of all. Some of our most 
valuable plant creations have been the result, not 
of special scientific training, but of patience, devo- 
tion to an ideal, and a clear-sighted notion of what 
selection can do. 

There is not a township or a county in any state 



CORN SMUT 

The damage to corn each year by 
smut is very large. Treatment of 
seed corn is of no value. Smutted 
ears should be collected and de- 
stroyed before the bursting and dis- 
charge of the spores. 



88 FARM CROPS 

or section that should not have its tens and hun- 
dreds of plant breeders, young men and old men, 
at work improving the plants of the garden and 
farm by means of selection. It not only is a most 
pleasant kind of work in which to engage, but it 
is profitable, not only through increasing the crops 
of the farm but because improved seed is in demand 
just as improved blood is always at a premium in 
the live stock world. 

FANNING MILLS FOR GOOD SEED 

Farmers lose millions a year through neglecting 
to properly clean and grade the seed and grain 
planted. This loss gets larger as land values in- 
crease. We shall never have any more land, and 
the value of this farm land is going up each year. 
So every farmer is confronted by the absolute neces- 
sity of getting more and more in the way of crops 
from each acre. Nothing so easy will do more in 
this direction than greater care in getting good 
seed. Even if you keep up the fertility, follow 
thorough tillage and cultivate assiduously, what 
will these avail if the seed is poor or if it contains 
weeds, imperfect grains or other substances not 
wanted in the planting? 

Really, we should give back to the land the best 
that it gives. Hence the plump seed, heavy with 
vitality, only should be used, and the shriveled 
seed and the weed seed should be discarded. In- 
deed, to do otherwise is to sustain needless loss. 
Consider your hay crop. You sow the grass seed 
mixed with weeds. You get weedy hay and feed 
most of it, if not all of it, to your own stock. The 
weed seed goes through the animal and remains 



^ 



' EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 89 

in the manure. Then you spread that manure over 
any or every field ; the result is more and more 
weeds, every year, everywhere. 

Moreover, grass and grain seed, if selected as is 
ordinarily done, run down, get poorer and poorer, 
and in time often get quite choked with weeds. 
This ought to be stopped. There is no compromise. 
There is no excuse for a compromise. Nothing 
will do so much in cleaning a farm of weeds as a 
good fanning mill. Through its use a man can 
soon breed up his crops. This will yield better 
and be of better quality ; and this kind will give 
him a reputation in the community for having seed 
or grain that is worth a good price. The fanning 
mill, therefore, is worth many times its cost to 
every farmer. 

BREEDING UP THE FARM CROPS 

It is a mistake to attempt the improvement of 
a crop in several directions at one time. The task 
is too big to undertake, even though you are able 
to devote much time to it. Limit your efforts to a 
few important characters, and steadfastly follow 
those lines. When these improvements become 
fixed and staple, other less important lines can be 
started. 

It does not require much money or much labor 
to work in this way in crop improvement. What 
is expended is certain to come back shortly. Or- 
dinarily it is to find the heavy yielding strains that 
we are after. Equally important is the plant's 
ability to withstand disease. A disease-resisting 
crop is more certain ; the seed from such a strain 
is more valuable, and therefore an aim in that direc- 




SEED CORN ROOM 



The increased attention to the selection of seed corn has 
brought about the curing room. Where artificial heat is sup- 
plied for drying corn for seed, only a small expense is re- 
quired. Any design that will provide dry, warm air will serve 
the purpose. 

90 



EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 



91 



tion is worthy in any improvement. In undertak- 
ing to breed up farm crops field selection is best. 
To secure 100 ears of corn or bolls of cotton or 
heads of wheat that are the best in the field, that 
are disease resisting, and at the same time that are 
heavy yielders, is to have available for next year's 






IMPROVEMENT OF CORN BY SELECTION 

The variety shown here is the Boone County White. On 
the right are the original types from which the ears on the 
left were developed by selection. The yield of corn can be in- 
creased very much if right care and attention are given in the 
selection of the seed. 



seeding some very choice seed for a seed plot. You 
see, in the seed plot there will be no seed used ex- 
cepting what has been hand selected and conse- 
quently very choice. This seed plot should pos- 
sess a type of soil common to the farm and fairly 
fertile; if not, it should be enriched. The same 
seed plot should not be used, however, year after 



92 FARM CROPS 

year. Crop rotation is as important to the seed 
plot as it is for the main crop. 

When this seed plot crop matures, you get a 
chance for a study of superior plants. You will 
note great variations and some plants will show 
the same marked increase that the selected seed 
did in the first place over the main crop. 

The seed plot offers an opportunity to trace out 
the superior strains. The animal breeders call this 
prepotency. It represents the power of the parent 
to transmit superior qualities to the offspring. 
Some animals do this to a remarkable degree ; some 
plants do not. If individual farm plants be not 
studied, there is no opportunity to discover the 
prepotent strains. Those possessing weak trans- 
mitting power are not desirable for breeding stock 
and these should be discarded. Preserve seed from 
the plants only that are able to propagate their 
individual qualities and merits, otherwise your 
progress will be slow. 

This plan of seed improvement should never be 
abandoned. The choicest fruit from the choicest 
plants should be selected each year for the next 
year's seed plot, and the balance, which ought to 
make enough seed for the main crop, should be 
used for that purpose. In this way, the seed plot 
is to be used to furnish seed for the main crop and 
the choice plants selected out of the seed plot are to 
be used as seed for the next year's seed plot. If 
this method of seed selection be continued long 
enough, there will be no running out of seed, nor 
will there be any deterioration in high yielding 
qualities. And all the time the crop will be im- 
proving because the seed is being made better. 
The seed plot does for farm crops what the Babcock 



EVERY FARMER A PLANT BREEDER 93 

test and scales have been doing right along for the 
dairy cow. It indicates the individuals that are 
w^orth perpetuating. 

LAWS OF PLANT IMPROVEMENT 

The tv^o fundamental principles behind plant im- 
provement are heredity and variation. Upon these 
two you must build your structure; but you must 
finish it and beautify it by selection. Heredity is 
the law that like produces like. Variation is the 
law that works to produce new things. Heredity 
is the law of uniformity. Variation is the law of 
change. Heredity is satisfied with what now ex- 
ists. Variation goes out to explore — to seek new 
paths and new fields. The plant breeder builds 
upon the present heredity, but he courts variation 
and urges it to seek new findings. If these are to 
his liking, he seizes them as his own, attaches them 
to the old heredity and builds the new structure 
higher and better. The work is now to fix the new 
acquisition and to make it a part of the building 
material. Variation all the while is allowed free 
range that it may gather in new discoveries for 
further improvement and use. We let heredity 
hold, keep and guard the values of the best fitted 
animals, but we call in variation to improve them. 

But where is selection? If its role is so im- 
portant, why is it not to be seen on this stage of 
improvement? It is, if nothing in the play has 
been struck out. Selection is man's part of the 
drama. It is his work to decide which of the new 
things that variation has found shall be held, which 
new ones shall be cast aside, and at what point the 
new acquisition is to be fixed as a part of the old 



94 



FARM CROPS 



stock. In starting his operations, it is the plant 
breeder's duty to ascertain what stocks and in- 
dividuals already have progressed furthest in the 
line in which he is interested, and these are the ones 
with which to begin. Every breeder seeks some 
special end. By looking over the field it is pos- 
sible, if we are onto our jobs, to get individuals 
peculiarly adapted to the work we are lay- 




Inbred. Crossbred. 

EFFECT OF INBREEDING OF CORN 

No. 1. The very small stalks are inbred. 
No. 2. The large stalks are crossbred. 

ing out to have performed. We ought to look for 
these superior individuals and, on finding them, let 
them be reserved for the task of improving the 
strain and variety. 



CHAPTER X 

Farm Crops 

ALFALFA. — With good seed, a proper seed bed 
and land adapted for growing the crop, a careful 
farmer should be almost as sure of establishing a 
successful stand of alfalfa as the average farmer is 
of getting a stand of wheat or oats. This may seem 
like a strong statement, since failure to get a good 
stand of alfalfa has often been the experience of 
many farmers, especially those who were inexpe- 
rienced in growing this crop. However, it is gen- 
erally true that the longer alfalfa is raised on any 
farm, the more readily it grows and the easier it 
becomes for the farmer to start the crop. 

Alfalfa will succeed in a variety of soils, grading 
from sandy to heavy clay. The crop, however, 
does not thrive alike on all soils; perhaps a deep, 
fertile loam or clayey loam well supplied with the 
mineral elements of plant food is the most favor- 
able soil for growing alfalfa. The crop needs a 
deep, well-drained soil ; on wet land, with under- 
ground water too near the surface, alfalfa will often 
produce poorly and the plant soon die. Alfalfa will 
not thrive on a soil deficient in lime, which shows 
an acid reaction. 

It is a fact well known to old clover growers that 
clover cannot be readily started on old, worn lands 
until the soil has been improved in texture and 
fertility by manuring. The same is true also of 
alfalfa, and it is often advisable before seeding 

95 



96 FARM CROPS 

alfalfa on thin or worn land to take a year or two 
in preparing the soil by green manuring, deep plow- 
ing and thorough cultivation, with the application 
also, when possible, of barnyard manure. Alfalfa 
may be started in very thin land, deficient in humus 
and nitrogen, but which contains a sufficient sup- 
ply of the mineral elements of plant food ; but under 
such conditions it starts very slowly, and may not 
produce profitable crops for a year or two after 
seeding; yet, in time, when the plants have estab- 
lished a deep root system and are well supplied 
with the nitrogen-gathering bacteria, the alfalfa 
makes a thrifty growth and produces excellent 
crops, even without manuring or fertilization. 

How Much Seed to Sow. — The amount of alfalfa 
seed to sow will depend to some extent upon the 
quality and vitality of the seed. The general practice 
has been and perhaps still is, to sow about 20 pounds 
of seed to the acre ; but many of the oldest and most 
successful alfalfa growers are now using much less 
seed. Good stands have been reported from sow- 
ing as little as 5 pounds of good seed to an acre. 
With alfalfa, as with clover, doubtless the season 
has much to do with securing a successful catch. 

The Seed Bed. — A deep, loose seed bed is not a 
favorable one in which to seed alfalfa, clover or 
grasses. Such a seed bed may be in a favorable 
condition for planting potatoes, or perhaps corn 
may sprout and grow well under the conditions 
named, since the seed is large and strong in vitality 
and contains much nutriment to nourish and start 
the young plant. But with clover, alfalfa, grasses 
and other small seeds the ideal seed bed should be 
mellow, but finely pulverized only about as deep 
as the seed is planted. Beneath the point at which 



ALFALFA 97 

the seed is placed and covered in the earth the soil 
should be rather firm, but not too hard or compact; 
such a condition as may be secured by cultivating 
the surface of well-settled fall plowing, or by disk- 
ing and harrowing unplowed corn land in the spring. 

Preparation of the Seed Bed. — The proper seed bed 
for fall seeding may often be prepared by summer 
plowing immediately after harvesting wheat or early 
spring grain and harrowing or disking at intervals 
until seeding time. It is often advisable to disk 
clean stubble land in preference to plowing, starting 
the disking as soon after harvest as possible. Millet 
or cowpeas cut for hay make good crops with which 
to precede the fall sowing of alfalfa. On foul land 
or in a dry climate it is well to fallow the land, 
practicing frequent cultivation during the summer 
previous to seeding in the fall. Such preparation 
will clear the land of weeds, store and conserve soil 
moisture and cause the accumulation of some avail- 
able plant food for the tender young plants. 

Another method of seeding, adapted to weedy 
land or to land which is deficient in available plant 
food, is to start the preparation of the seed bed 
early in the spring, when the land may be either 
plowed or cultivated with the disk-harrow. The 
cultivation with the common harrow, disk or Acme 
harrow should be continued at intervals of a week 
or ten days, in order to destroy the weeds, con- 
serve the moisture and develop available plant food. 
Late in the spring, seed the alfalfa, choosing a time 
to sow, when possible, soon after a good rain, so 
that the soil may be in good condition to germinate 
the alfalfa seed. Alfalfa seeded by this method 
should sprout very quickly and the weeds should 
not be troublesome, since the weed seeds in the 



98 FARM CROPS 

surface soil will have already germinated and the 
weeds will have been destroyed by the early cul- 
tivation. The cultivation also causes some of the 
latent fertility of the soil to develop and become 
available, and with the abundant moisture supplied 
should usually insure a good start of alfalfa. 

The firm condition of the soil beneath the seed 
and a good connection with the subsoil not only 
offers favorable conditions for supplying the seed 
with moisture, but the mellow covering over the 
seed allows the air and heat to reach the seed from 
above, and these three — moisture, heat and air — are 
the essential factors in seed germination ; but if any 
of these are lacking the seed will not germinate. 

Time to Sow. — Alfalfa may be successfully seeded 
either early in the spring or early in the fall. It 
may be destroyed by a hard frost just after the 
young plants have appeared, showing their first 
leaves, but when the plants have thrown out a few 
leaves and have made some growth they are not 
likely to be destroyed by frost. Thus very early 
seeding is perhaps more apt to be successful than 
medium early seeding, while late seeding is most 
apt to sufifer from heavy rain packing the soil and 
from the effects of hot, dry weather. Here is a 
general rule which may be practiced with success : 
Prepare the seed bed early, either in the fall or 
spring, and seed when the soil is in a fit condition 
to germinate the seed. There is little use of sow- 
ing alfalfa unless the soil conditions are favorable 
to germinate the seed at once, for the seeds are 
much more apt to be injured and lost if they must 
lie for any considerable time in a seed bed which 
is not in fit condition to germinate seed. 



ALFALFA 99 

By fall seeding the land usually returns a fair 
yield of hay the first season after sowing, whereas 
with spring seeding the alfalfa is not likely to make 
sufficient growth to produce a profitable crop of 
hay the first season, and should the alfalfa make 
sufficient growth, the weeds will usually be so 
abundant as to greatly reduce the value of the first 
season's cuttings for hay. On weedy land fall seed- 
ing has the advantage of spring seeding, in that 
the weeds are not troublesome in the fall and the 
fall-seeded alfalfa starts ahead of weeds in the 
spring, giving a comparatively clean growth of hay 
the first year after seeding. 

Methods of Seeding. — A large amount of alfalfa 
has been seeded with the ordinary grain drill. At 
present the greatest objection to this method is that 
it requires too much seed. To sow in this way 
requires 20 to 30 pounds of seed an acre. The feed 
on the ordinary grain drill cannot be set up close 
enough to sow less pure seed than the amount 
named, and diluting with bran or other material is 
often unsatisfactory, causing an uneven distribu- 
tion of seed. A better plan to sow with the grain 
drill is to have a grass-seeder attachment to the 
drill, which will allow close adjustment and with 
spouts emptying into the grain tubes, so that the 
seed may be dropped in the drill furrows and evenly 
covered. In some soils and in some seasons there 
is little doubt but that the method of seeding with 
the drill may give more favorable results than 
broadcasting. As a rule, however, alfalfa may be 
successfully started by sowing broadcast in a well- 
prepared seed bed, care being taken to seed at the 
right time and when the soil is in favorable con- 
dition for sprouting the seed. Alfalfa is success- 



100 FARM CROPS 

fully sown by hand, but in recent years the little 
wheelbarrow seeder, several makes of which are on 
the market, has come into use for broadcasting 
grass, clover, alfalfa and other small seeds. 
The seed should not be covered deeply; usually 
less than I inch is better than more than i inch of 
soil covering, while on heavy, compact soil or in 
wet seasons the seed should be covered very lightly. 
The seed bed should be fully prepared before seed- 
ing, and one brush with the harrow is usually suf- 
ficient to cover the seed in a seed bed having a 
mellow, even surface. If the seed is planted too 
deep, the young shoots will often be unable to 
reach the surface. The vitality of the small seed 
being quickly exhausted the plant and the seed are 
lost. There is always danger in using the drill for 
seeding that the seed may be planted too deep. 
Even if the seed is covered very lightly it must lie 
in a furrow, which may fill with the first beating 
rain, thus covering the seed or young plants and 
often destroying them. As a rule, it is not best to 
roll after seeding. In light soils or dry seasons, 
however, it may become desirable to roll to cover 
the seed and press the soil about the seed. It will 
always be well to follow the roller with a light 
harrow, leaving the ground furrowed and with a 
surface of mulch, and not smooth and hard as left 
by the roller. 

Nurse Crop. — It is safest, as a rule, to sow 
alfalfa without a nurse crop, and this is the method 
usually practiced, although it is possible to get 
good stands in the most favorable climate, soil and 
season by seeding with spring grain crops. Again,, 
in light soil, which is apt to blow, it may be advis- 
able to sow some crop with the alfalfa in order to 



ALFALFA I 01 

protect the youngf plants from the drifting sand. 
If this method is practiced, a lighter seeding of 
grain should be made than when the grain is seeded 
alone, and in a dry season it may become desirable 
to cut the grain crop for hay before it matures in 
order to prevent the alfalfa from being destroyed 
by drought. The nurse-crop method cannot be con- 
sidered a safe one for establishing a stand of alfalfa. 
Treatment After Seeding. — Alfalfa seeded ih the 
spring needs little care after the first season, more 
than to mow a few times during the summer to 
prevent the weeds from seeding and to keep them 
from " smothering " the young alfalfa plants. It is 
well to mow the field two or three times during 
the season, but the growth of weeds and alfalfa 
should not be cut too close to the ground until the 
alfalfa blooms, when it may be mowed close with- 
out injuring the plants. It seems to be true that 
when alfalfa has become well established, frequent 
close cutting seems to benefit the plant and cause 
it to grow more vigorously, but this is not true of 
the young, tender plants. It is true of alfalfa as 
with any other young plant, that it must form a 
top growth before or at the same time that it is 
producing roots. The leaves are the stomach and 
lungs of the plant, and before the roots can develop 
the leaves must manufacture the products which 
are built into the cells and tissue that constitute the 
roots. If this top growth of leaves is cut ofif before 
a sufficient root growth has been established to 
easily restore the top growth, the eflfect is to check 
the growth of the plant, weaken it, and perhaps 
destro}^ it. The fall-seeded alfalfa needs no care 
in the fall : the full growth of plants and weeds 
should be left as a winter covering. The next sea- 



102 FARM CROPS 

son the alfalfa may be regularly cut for hay, and 
with a good catch will often produce three or four 
cuttings the first year, yielding three or four tons 
of good hay an acre, although on foul land the hay 
is apt to be a little weedy. 

Lime for Alfalfa. — When the soil is acid alfalfa 
will not succeed until the acidity has been corrected 
by the application of lime in some form. This acid 
condition in soil is apt to prevail in old, worn land. 
It is not usual to apply lime directly to the crop. 
In fact, if quicklime is scattered in alfalfa it is prob- 
able that some of the plants will be injured or 
destroyed by the lime. Lime in the form of car- 
bonate of lime may be applied in small quantities 
directly to the crop without danger of injuring the 
plants. A good plan in liming soil for alfalfa is to plow 
the field several weeks or months before the alfalfa 
is to be seeded, scatter the lime soon after plowing 
and mix it with the surface soil by harrowing or 
disking, and continue the disking or harrowing at 
intervals until the time of seeding. On soil that would 
be benefited by applying lime, the application of 
lime before seeding will greatly improve the chances 
for getting a good stand and a good start of alfalfa. 

ALSIKE CLOVER.— This plant, compared with 
common red clover, is characterized by a pinkish 
rather than a bluish red tinge of its blossoms. Its 
roots are smaller. It produces less pasture after a 
season of maturity and also matures later than the 
common red varieties. It has a perennial rather 
than a biennial habit of growth. It feeds some- 
what near to the surface and therefore does not 
possess drouth-resisting qualities of the stronger 
varieties of clover. For bee feeding it is very popu- 
lar. Its range of distribution is much more limited 



ALSIKE CLOVER 



103 



than the common red variety, and is better known 
in the Northern states than in those of the South. 
It is especially adapted to clay soils, clay loams and 
bottom lands. It does much better on stiff clays 
than the mammoth variety. If moisture is present, 
it w^ill do well on any soil. 
The manner of sowing is 
similar to that of common 
red clover, 3 to 5 pounds of 
seed being used to the acre. 
It blends well with other 
kinds of grass for pasture, 
and with timothy, orchard 
grass and Kentucky blue 
grass it is at its best. It 
is frequently sown alone, 
but is most generally used 
in combination with other 
grasses. When sown alone 
it may be pastured con- 
tinuously after it has made 
a good start in the spring. 

After maturity, however, Also called Swedish 

•^ . clover. It thrives best in a 

it stops its growth and fur- cool climate. Will grow in 

. t I'.ii . r moister soils than red 

nishes little pasture from clover, but is not so resist- 

4-U^-i- ^^ T^ ^^ u A- ant against drouth. This 

that on. In dry, hot wea- plant is about half between 

ther and on dry soils it wi?itTc"iove?^ ''^''^'^'" ^"^^ 
should not be pastured as 

closely as would be possible in moist soils and 
during cooler seasons. 

ARTICHOKES.— A plant grown for the under- 
ground tubers. These are potato-like in appear- 
ance and may be white, yellow, red or purple. The 
white and red varieties, as a rule, give the best 
yields. They are used to some extent for table pur- 




ALSIKE CLOVER 



104 FARM CROPS 

poses, but are most commonly grown as stock food. 
The tubers may be harvested or left in the ground. 
If the soil is not too wet they keep very well in this 
way. If grown for hogs, the common practice is 
to let the hogs do the harvesting themselves; that 
is, root all about and gather the tubers themselves, 
usually leaving enough in the soil to replant the 
crop another season. Very large quantities of 
tubers are secured, the yield varying from 300 to 
1,000 bushels to the acre. They give a great deal 
of food, being about equal in nutritive value to 
potatoes and above turnips and mangels. After 
hogs have acquired a taste for the tubers they eat 
them greedily. Being heavy carriers of starch, 
artichokes are a good substitute for corn and not 
only maintain steady growth, but fatten as well. 

Artichokes are not intended to be a main crop 
on the farm, but more as a side issue. Where hogs 
are raised by the lot method a small patch of arti- 
chokes is desirable. During the summer season the 
hogs can be pastured on clover or rye to roam in 
the wheat fields or other pasture fields and when 
fall comes on be turned into the artichoke patch 
where they will get a good ration for several weeks. 
In the following spring the artichoke patch should 
be disked or harrowed over and the soil put in good 
condition again. As the plants begin to grow, if 
planted in rows, cultivation should be carried on to 
keep the weeds down and to give the crop the value 
of culture. The plants growing between the rows 
may be cultivated out. If the planting be broad- 
cast, then no cultivations other than the harrowings 
will be necessary. 

In starting an artichoke patch some care should 
be exercised in the soil selected. They like well- 



ARTICHOKES I05 

drained soils. The light sandy or gravelly soils 
too poor for most other crops often produce very 
thriving crops. A dry soil is desirable, otherwise 
the tubers may rot. The artichoke plant has con- 
siderable drouth-resisting qualities, and for that 
reason fits in very nicely with other farm crops, 
since the little poor patches may be given over to 
it to be employed as heretofore indicated. Fungous 
diseases and insect pests do not seem to trouble the 
plants. In setting the bed, give the land deep till- 
age and set the plants in rows 3 feet apart and the 
sets in rows 2 feet apart. The plantings are made 
by the tubers or sets, just as with potatoes. Inas- 
much as the artichoke plant is not sensitive to 
frost it may be planted early in the spring. It is a 
good plan to cultivate during the summer just 
about the same as potatoes. The plants grow from 
6 to 10 feet in height and very much resemble the 
wild sunflower in appearance. 

BARLEY. — The principal use of barley is for 
malting and stock feeding. Although grown in 
nearly all sections of the country, its extensive cul- 
ture is confined to a few states, chief among which 
are California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the 
Dakotas. The best malting barley is grown on 
rather light, well-drained soil producing medium 
yields of bright grain. Heavy yields of grain and 
straw are secured on fertile loams and clay, but the 
grain is darker colored and suitable only for stock 
feed. In fact, grain grown on heavier soils is of 
much higher feeding value. 

Plowing and fitting the ground for barley needs 
to be done more deeply and thoroughly than for 
wheat or any other grain crop. It is good practice 
to follow with barley after some hoed crop that 



I06 FARM CROPS 

has been well fertilized with barnyard manure. Ex- 
cellent yields are secured after alfalfa or root crops. 
The crop matures in about lOO days for seeding, 
and requires a rich, warm, easily penetrated seed 
bed, well supplied with plant food, for it is dis- 
tinctly a surface-feeding crop. 

As barley is grown for two principal purposes, 
it requires fertilizing in accordance with the use 
to be made of it, since the composition is influenced 
by the fertilizer. For malting, a grain rich in starch 
is sought. Many experiments have shown that 
fertilizers of high potash content tend to produce a 
heavy grain with a large proportion of starch. For 
feeding purposes a high protein content is desired. 
Very rich soils, or those highly fertilized with barn- 
yard manure or other nitrogenous manures, produce 
a heavy growth of straw and grain of good protein 
content. When grown for feeding, fertilizer mix- 
tures carrying relatively large amounts of phos- 
phoric acid and nitrogen should be used. Super- 
phosphate, ground bone, dried blood and nitrate of 
soda are satisfactory sources. 

Sowing. — In the Northern states the seeding time 
generally falls between the spring wheat and oat 
seedings. The young plants are more tender and 
sensitive to frost than wheat, and are easily injured 
by cold rains or drouth. On average soils sow at 
the rate of 2 bushels an acre. When sown on 
rich land or broadcasted use 2^/2 bushels of seed. 
The best depth to seed averages 3 inches and should 
not be less than 2 nor more than 4. 

There are two classes of barley, one with hulls 
and one without. The latter class is often called 
naked or bald barley. The hulled class consists 
of two-rowed, four-rowed and six-rowed types. 



BARLEY 107 

The two-rowed is the favorite malting type and the 
six-rowed is in highest esteem for stock feed. 
Chevalier is, perhaps, the most prominent variety 
of the malting types, while Manshury easily takes 
the lead of the stock-feed types. The hull-less 
barley is grown for feed. It is somewhat earlier 
than the hulled sorts, but usually yields much 
lighter. Success is a variety that has given good 
satisfaction at high elevations. 

The prejudice against feeding barley in this coun- 
try is unfounded. While not equal to corn for 
fattening purposes, for growing stock it stands at 
the head of grains. On pigs it produces flesh of 
the highest quality. Barley hay does not have a 
high feeding value and is only grown where more 
valuable forage crops do not thrive. 

BEANS.— See Field Beans. 

BEGGAR WEED.— A leguminous plant used in 
the Southern states for hay and soil improvement. 
It grows from 3 to 7 feet high and is a superior 
plant for sandy soils, including the hammock and 
pine lands of Florida and other gulf coast sections. 
Four or 5 pounds of clean seed are sown to the 
acre for soil-renovating purposes and from 8 to 10 
for haying purposes. The seed should not be sown 
until the soil is warm, the best time being just 
before the summer rains. Usually two crops can 
be secured, the first crop being cut at the time the 
first flowers appear. Beggar weed yields anywhere 
from 2 to 5 tons an acre and the hay produced is 
liked as well as red clover hay. For green manur- 
ing there is perhaps no crop superior. If 3 or 4 
pounds of seed are seeded in corn at the last cul- 
tivation, splendid pasturage will be secured during 
the rest of the season. It is not a weed and does 



io8 



FARM CROPS 



not become so, although the name indicates such to 
be the case. Wherever it has been grown it has 
given excellent results and cows and sheep are 
very fond of it. 

BERMUDA GRASS.— A native of a warm 
climate, Bermuda grass delights in sunshine 
and perishes if it is with- 
held. When frost and cool wea- 
ther approach it wraps itself in 
sleep until warm weather comes 
again, but it does not object to 
cattle feeding on its withered 
leaves and stems during its 
period of rest. It is hardy, and 
grows everywhere, covering even 
the poorest broken and rocky hill- 
sides, or railroad banks, with its 
mantle of green. There is a well- 
authenticated record of 6^ tons 
of Bermuda hay per acre from 
three mowings during one sea- 
son, on Georgia bottom-land. 
Even the most enthusiastic be- 
liever cannot claim so much for 
blue grass, its rival of the cooler 
sections. Bermuda is commonly 
and easily propagated by means 
of underground stems, although 
seed may be used as well. In 
growing it creeps along both 
underground and above ground, 
even more rapidly than the ivy 
climbs on stone and brick, and 
thrives where land is hard, broken 
and stony. It is the very plant 




BEGGAR WEED 

With a fair stand, 
from 3 to 5 tons of 
cured hay may be 
secured to the acre. 
This hay is but 
slightly inferior to 
red clover in feed- 
ing value. The beg- 
gar weed is a most 
excellent crop to 
turn under for 
green manure and 
is considered su- 
perior for this pur- 
pose to velvet 
beans when using 
in orchards. 



BERMUDA GRASS lOQ 

for the old, run-down fields of the cotton belt, 
and the broken hillsides that must be protected 
lest they wash away. In propagating, this is a good 
way: Plow your field as you would for corn or 
cotton and smooth with the harrow. Use the plow 
to open furrows 2 or 3 feet apart over the entire 
field, just as you do for corn or cotton. In these 
open furrows drop pieces of Bermuda roots or sods 
every 20 or 30 inches. When this has been done 
you may cover by throwing the furrow-slice 
back, then harrow again or roll the land. 

Roots and sods may be prepared for the purpose 
by putting them in small piles and thoroughly 
chopping with an ax or spade. In this manner 
you will secure enough settings from a bushel of 
plants to plant several acres. With the coming of 
warm weather the Bermuda settings quickly begin 
to spread out in every direction, in a few months' 
time covering the entire surface of the land and 
filling the soil with a perfect mat of roots. Later 
in the season a disk-harrow may be run over the 
land with advantage, that it may cut the runners, 
start new settings, loosen the soil and give better 
foothold for the plants. 

BLUE GRASS.— See Kentucky Blue Grass. 

BROOM CORN. — Broom corn is of two general 
varieties, standard and dwarf, the difference being 
in height of the stalk and length of the broom. The 
soil preparation for planting this crop varies in no 
essential detail from any ordinary treatment for 
growing Indian corn. A finely pulverized condi- 
tion of the seed bed is necessary, since a rough or 
sandy condition of the surface will result in cover- 
ing up some of the young plants during first cul- 
tivation. It is planted in drills with an ordinary 



no FARM CROPS 

corn planter. Special plates are made for drilling 
this fine seed. Al)out 3 inches is the proper depth 
for planting. Cultivation may begin at practically 
any time after planting, by the use of the harrow 
lengthwise of the rows. The young plants will not 
be injured by this treatment, while the weeds will 
be kept from gaining a start. The first few weeks 
the young broom corn plants grow very slowly, and 
it is of prime importance to prevent heavy growth 
of weeds obtaining a foothold before the plant is 
big enough to cultivate. Ordinary corn cultivator 
machinery is used in caring for the crop. 

Careful Harvesting Required. — The time for har- 
vesting is that stage when the fibers of the broom 
have completed their growth and before the stalk 
and seed have begun to ripen. When the seed is 
in what is known as the dead stage, or at the end 
of the milk stage, it is usually the proper time for 
cutting. The stalks grow so high that they 
must be broken before it is possible to cut the 
brush, which is the valuable part of the crop. 
This is done by hand work, one man breaking 
the stalks down as fast as two men can 
cut the brush. The breaker walks backward be- 
tween the two rows, bending the stalks at either 
hand at a height of about 23>2 or 3 feet and over- 
lapping them in such a way as to form a continuous 
table of green, fibrous stalks. On this table the 
brushes are placed as they are cut and left until 
partially dry, before being hauled from the field. 
The proper length for cutting the brush is 6 to 8 
inches below the first fibers, so as to leave a stalk 
of at least 6 inches in length attached to each broom. 
Anything longer than this will, of course, increase 
the tonnage and this has been, in some cases, one of 



BROOM CORN III 

the tricks of the trade, but a marked amount of long 
stalks in a bale will result in a reduction of price. 

The process of removing the seed from the brush 
is variously termed seeding, scraping or threshing, 
and consists of running the seed-laden heads through 
a cylinder similar to that of the ordinary threshing 
machine, except that the entire brush does not pass 
through, only the head being subjected to the scrap- 
ing i)rocess, so as not to destroy the stalk upon 
which the fibers were borne. 

When thoroughly dried, the brooms are baled 
and these bales are inclosed with rather large, 
smooth wire, to avoid cutting the fibers, and usually 
weigh about 320 pounds. A few days of rain or 
damp, cloudy weather at harvesting time may re- 
duce the value of the crop very considerably. Many 
farmers who continue growing broom corn year 
after year have their own special machinery for 
handling it. In such cases it is customary to cut 
a certain amount of broom corn during the early 
part of the day, haul it to the house and thresh it 
in the afternoon and evening, so that the brooms 
may be gotten under shelter at the earliest possible 
moment. Leaving part of the cut broom corn in 
the field overnight, of course, exposes it to the pos- 
sibility of heavy dew or rain, with its consequent 
bad efifects. If a sufficient force of men is at hand 
to cut the entire crop in one or two days, and then 
haul in and thresh immediately, this plan is fre- 
quently pursued. 

Crooked Brush Reduces Values. — Probably the 
greatest factor inHucncing the value of the crop, 
aside from weather conditions and curing is the 
number of crooked stalks. Heavy dews or wet 
weather during the maturing stage of the brush 




112 



BROOM CORN II3 

often result In making large numbers of stalks 
crooked, because of the weight of moisture held 
by the head. If the seed is allowed to mature to 
too great an extent, and thus put a heavyweight 
upon the stalk, this also will result in crooked stalks. 
The marked standard is half price for crooked 
stalks in separate bales. If these crooked brooms 
are baled with straight ones, the value of the whole 
will be reduced nearly one-half. The seed and chaff 
removed in the threshing process has little or no 
feeding value and is usually disposed of as waste 
by spreading upon the ground, or even by burning 
when dry. 

Improvement in the quality of broom corn Is 
brought about through seed selection. A small 
plat planted with seed selected with a view to vigor- 
ous growing plants and finely developed broom 
brushes, would probably pay on every farm where 
broom corn is grown. By this means the quality 
of the seed can be insured and less danger is ex- 
perienced from the introduction of weeds and mixed 
varieties of broom corn than by using imported seed. 

The principal difference between the standard and 
dwarf varieties lies in the size of the plant and 
length of fiber of the broom. The dwarf seems to 
thrive best in the dry, sandy soil of the Southwest 
and produces a fiber suitable for the manufacture 
of whisk brooms and o^"her fine grades, while the 
large, standard varieties are utilized more largely 
for heavy brooms, for use on pavements, in 
barns, etc. 

BROOM CORN MILLET.— See Millets. 

BUCKWHEAT.— This well-known crop is used 
very largely as a human food. Chickens and other 
stock share to a limited extent and frequently the 



114 FARM CROPS 

unharvested crop is plowed under as a green 
manure for depleted or otherwise worn-out lands. 
Its value in the latter instance is due to the humus 
that is added to the soil. The leading buckwheat 
states are New York and Pennsylvania. The crop 
will grow on land where most other crops would 
starve. It shares with rye this distinction of being 
a poor land crop. Its best yields are obtained from 
fertile, well-drained and sandy loams. Wheat lands 
or stiff clays never attract the crop. A good yield 
on good ground is about 40 bushels to the acre, 
although the general average is only about half 
this amount. Frost destroys buckwheat and there- 
fore its season of growth is much shorter than most 
other farm crops. However, 75 days are usually 
enough to bring it to maturity. It will then run 
from 2 to 2^ feet in height. From May to August 
is the usual time for seeding in the South, and from 
June I to July 10 the usual time in the North. The 
seed should be covered about 2 inches deep and 
may be drilled or scattered broadcast. It is the 
latter method that is most common. About a half 
bushel of seed is used to the acre. The general 
rule is that the better the land, the more the seed. 
The soil should be well prepared just the same as 
for other small grain seeds. 

In fertilizing, potash, phosphoric acid and lime 
are the elements most in demand by the plant and 
they should be supplied previous to seeding. While 
considerable manure is helpful, it is usually pre- 
ferred for other crops. The grain ripens unevenly, 
the blossom season extending over a period of two 
to four weeks in length. A good rule is to harvest 
just after the first seeds have ripened. To delay 
much after this is to lose this ripened seed. After 



BUCKWHEAT II5 

being cut the plant is loosely bound in sheaves and 
left in the field to cure. It is then threshed and 
without stacking. If stacked, it tends to gather 
moisture and in this way the seed is injured. 

The three varieties best known are the Silver Hull, 
Japanese and the Common. At the Massachusetts 
station, the three varieties developed in about 74 
days and yielded in the order named. The Iowa 
station states that the Japanese buckwheat is much 
superior to the other two varieties. There seems 
to be little difference in the value of either for 
making flour. The use of buckwheat as a poultry 
feed is becoming more popular each year, perhaps 
due to the success that poultrymen in France have 
had with the seed. The general claim seems to be 
that buckwheat promotes egg production early in 
the winter season and gives a good flavor to the 
meat. 

BUR CLOVER. — A splendid legume for improv- 
ing worn-out lands. It is grown to some extent in 
the South, but not nearly so much as it should be. 
It is an annual, having 15 to 60 branches from 15 
to 30 inches in length. The flowers are yellow and 
the seed is borne in prickly burs with three to five 
seeds in a pod. To grow bur clover successfully on 
a soil that has never grown it before, it is generally 
unnecessary to resort to artificial inoculation. On 
such land soil inoculation will generally be com- 
plete by the beginning of the second year. If the 
burs are not gathered up from the soil, bacteria are 
abundantly supplied. This crop does its best on 
the heavier types of sandy soil which are under- 
laid by clay subsoil and which are generally moist, 
but it grows well on the lighter types of sandy soil 
as well as on soils of other character. 



Il6 FARM CROPS 

Where It is to be sown in the bur, the land may 
be prepared as for grain and grass crops. In the 
Southern states it is mainly broadcasted in corn 
and cotton and covered at the last cultivation i or 2 
inches deep. The seed may be sown as late as the 
middle of September. Two bushels of seed will 
give a fair stand the first year, after which it is not 
necessary to reseed, if the crop is given proper 
treatment and opportunity to mature seed. After 
it has matured seed, other crops may follow. 
Orchards may be cultivated and later planted in 
peas in case this is desired. This procedure en- 
riches the land and at small cost. Liberal applica- 
tions of acid phosphate and potash salts should be 
used in connection with soil improvers like bur 
clover and the other legumes. 

CANADA FIELD PEAS.— See Field Peas. 

CARROTS. — These plants start very slowly and 
hence the land should be free from wxeds and a fine 
compacted seed bed allotted them from the very 
beginning. The ideal soil is a deep, well-pulver- 
ized sandy loam rather abundantly supplied with 
potash and nitrogen. Some growers start germina- 
tion before planting. To do this the seed is placed 
in a box in a warm room and daily moistened with 
warm water for several days until the germination 
begins. The seed is then dried in sand and sown. 
From 4 to 6 pounds to the acre is the usual allot- 
ment. The rows should be about 2^ feet apart. 
When the plants are large enough the crop is 
thinned and the weeds destroyed. 

Carrots are a splendid feed for horses when 
cereal grains like corn and oats are fed. The good 
secured is really more than the nutrient suggests. 
The succulence and juices contained in carrots pos- 



CARROTS 



117 



sess a dietary value that should not be ignored in 
feeding live stock. The crop is usually harvested 
by hand pulling and topping. This work can be 
facilitated by running a plow along both sides of 




CARROT 

In the wild state the carrot is a bad weed, but 
the Improved varieties are excellent for table use 
and they form a favorite succulent food for horses 
and dairy cows. The most suitable soil is a deep, 
mellow, rich loam, free from weed seed. Carrots 
are a great favorite with many horse breeders. 



the row. From 200 to 400 bushels are produced 
to the acre. The storing is usually in pits like 
potatoes. On account of the large amount of hand 
labor required in growing the crop the acreage 
given each year is very limited. 



lig FARM CROPS 

CASSAVA. — There are two varieties of this 
plant, the bitter and the sweet. In the former 
hydrocyanic acid is found in the roots and is, there- 
fore, poisonous. It is grown mostly in the tropics. 
The sweet variety is non-poisonous, and because of 
its large starch content is a splendid stock food. 
Cassava has as yet received no extensive use as a 
farm crop outside of Florida, but it has possibilities 
in other gulf states. It is now commercially grown 
for starch as well as a stock food and so satisfac- 
tory have been the tests made of it that its use 
should be greatly extended. 

The commercial value is in the roots, or, more 
properly, the enlarged underground stems. These 
run from i inch to 3 inches in diameter and from 
I to 4 feet in length and contain about 20 per cent 
of starch and about 3 per cent of sugar. The 
Florida experiment station says that cassava comes 
nearer furnishing the Florida farmer with a univer- 
sally profitable crop than any other which he can 
grow on equally large areas. It can be utilized in 
more ways, it can be sold in more dififerent forms, 
it can be cheaply converted into staple and finished 
products and can be produced for a smaller part 
of its selling price than any other crop. 

Land for cassava should be prepared in about the 
same way as that for corn. Rows 4 feet apart are 
plowed out and in these rows the seed or canes are 
dropped and covered by a turn plow or some sim- 
ilar implement. The canes are used for seed, 
being cut in sections from 4 to 6 inches in length. 
The first cultivation after the plants are up should 
be deep, and subsequent cultivations should be 
shallow and frequent, as for corn. After a few 
weeks, the plants assume a shrublike appearance. 



CASSAVA 119 

when it is impossible to further cultivate. If a 
row of cowpeas be planted between the rows, the 
fertility of the cassava land can be maintained. 

When the plants are mature, the tops are cut off 
5 or 6 inches from the ground with a corn knife or 
hoe and the roots then pulled out. In sandy soils 
this can be done easily by hand, but in the stiffer, 
tighter soils they may need first to be loosened by 
means of a shovel. It is the usual custom to leave 
the roots in the soil until used. If drawn out and 
stored, their value is lessened. From 5 to 8 tons 
are produced to the acre. In feeding experiments, 
conducted at the Florida station, cassava has proven 
the superior of corn, chufas or peanuts for fatten- 
ing pigs, a pound of pork being produced with 
cassava at a cost of about one cent, or at a price 
about one-third that of other food stuffs. Starch 
is the conspicuous constituent in cassava. It is 
evident that best results are secured when some 
nitrogenous food like clover or peas is fed in con- 
nection with the cassava to more evenly balance 
the ration. 

CHUFA. — This plant is used slightly as a field 
crop in the South and is in especially good favor as 
a food for hogs. The parts that are valuable are 
the underground tubers, which are known as nuts. 
They are usually eaten raw, the hogs doing the har- 
vesting. Sometimes they are baked. The tubers 
are oblong, one-fourth to one inch in length, and 
hard. For feeding purposes the crop ranks close 
to corn and is considered su])erior to soy beans or 
cowpeas. The yield is large, varying from 100 to 
200 ])ushels an acre. The crop is propagated by 
means of the tubers. These are usually planted 
singly 2 inches deep, 10 to 15 inches apart in rows, 



120 FARM CROPS 

the rows themselves being placed 2 to 3 feet apart. 
The crop is planted in the spring about the same 
time as corn and is harvested in the fall. If the 
tubers are left in the ground and not harvested 
they will grow the following spring. 

CLUB WHEAT.— Wheat with a square head 
and very short and compact. It is a variety popu- 
lar in the Western states, where the grain remains 
in the field until quite ripe. It does not tend to 
shatter like common wheat and the stiffness of the 
straw makes it less liable to lodge. It is admirably 
adapted to regions where the combined header and 
thresher are used. Both bearded and bald and 
spring and winter varieties are grown. The chief 
advantage of growing this wheat lies in the fact 
that harvesting may be done long after ripening 
without any loss from shattering. 

COMMON RED CLOVER.— See Red Clover. 

COMMON MILLET.— See Millet. 

CRIMSON CLOVER.— An annual sown in the 
late summer or early fall, reaching maturity in the 
springtime of the following year. It is quite up- 
right in its habit of growth ; more so than the other 
clovers and has a less proportion of leaf growth to 
the stems. It grows from 12 to 30 inches high and 
reaches maturity in time for spring crops like corn 
and vegetables. The blossom is crimson or scar- 
let, from Avhich quality it gets its name. Its dis- 
tribution is more limited than the common red 
variety and is most commonly grown in the South- 
ern states. Sandy soils are most fancied by it. It 
has been grown all along the Atlantic shore, but in 
the cold, clay lands it does not do well, preferring 
when brought into the more northern climes sandy 
loams that are open and relatively warm. 



CPIMSON CLOVER 



121 



In the rotation system crimson clover should be 
grown as a catch crop. It can succeed a crop har- 
vested one season and be away in time for another 
crop the following spring. It can succeed cowpeas 
or wheat or potatoes and is a splendid crop to be 
seeded at the last cultivation of corn or cotton. It 
is much prized in orchards where it can be seeded 
in the late summer and 
plowed under in the early 
spring, thus permitting cul- 
tivation during the growing 
season when the moisture is 
desired for the trees rather 
than for grass or other 
crops. A good seed bed is 
always desirable, although 
crimson clover may be sown 
on any kind of land, provid- 
ing the seed is covered. The 
peg-tooth harrow is an ex- 
cellent tool to give proper 
covering. In preparing the 
soil the aim should be to 
secure a fine, compact and 
moist seed bed. If plow- 
ing be done just previous 
to seeding, the harrow and 
roller should be freely used, so as to secure a 
compact bed. 

CORN. — The first thing is to see that the ground 
is in good condition and that the field intended for 
corn is given thorough preparation. The best re- 
sults are usually secured on clover sod. This kind 
of land is full of plant food, contains a large amount 
of nitrogen and is usually in splendid tilth. The 




CRIMSON CLOVER 

Most popular in the 
South for land-improv- 
ing effects. It is seeded 
in the fall and either 
plowed under preceding 
corn or cotton or har- 
vested for hay and then 
followed by corn. It gives 
excellent results in or- 
chards. 



122 FARM CROPS 

depth of plowing depends, of course, upon the char- 
acter of the soil and the locality. 

After the soil has been plowed, the matter of 
thoroughly fining it is highly important. The disk 
has given excellent service in the corn belt, also the 
Acme harrow. The roller can seldom be used, as 
this packs the ground too much, especially if plant- 
ing is followed by a heavy rain or two. Plan to 
have the upper soil as mellow as possible, so as to 
give the seed an early and a strong start. In many 
parts of the country it has been found exceedingly 
profitable to disk the corn ground before plowing. 
This forms a soil mulch and prevents rapid drying 
out. 

Whether to plow in the fall or spring will de- 
pend upon the character of the land. If the field 
happens to be hard and cloddy for any reason it is 
very desirable to fall plow. Frequently, however, 
fall-plowed land has to be replowed again in the 
spring. Many people plow in the autumn and early 
winter, as they then have more time for this kind 
of work. It lightens the farmer's labor in the 
early spring. Where soils do not wash, fall plow- 
ing is very satisfactory. 

Selection of Seed. — When the ground has been 
prepared in this thorough manner, the next im- 
portant step is the selection of the seed. In choos- 
ing seed corn the important point is to get ears of 
the desired type and kernels that have a high state 
of vitality. If the corn has been preserved care- 
fully during the winter and kept in a room where 
there is plenty of circulation and if it had been 
gathered early enough in the fall there ought to be 
no trouble about poor seed. Choose ears of medium 
size and wedge-shaped kernels. Shell the butts 



CORN 123 

and tips of the ears and discard these. These ker- 
nels, as a rule, will grow as well as the others, but 
in doing the planting it is very necessary, in order 
to secure an even stand, that the kernels be of uni- 
form size ; consequently, discard the large kernels 
from the butts and the small ones from the tips. 
After this has been done, the corn is shelled and it 
is ready for the planter. 

It is not only necessary that the seed be from 
ears of the desired type and that the germ will 
grow, but it is also very important that the germ 
have a high vitality, which will enable it to grow 
rapidly and mature a crop early. Where drouths 
are liable to occur late in the growing season, this 
early start is a very important matter. Then, too, 
vigorous, healthy seed always produces a much 
better crop than seed with a lower vitality. 

To determine whether or not seed has a high 
vitality, select 100 kernels, place them in a saucer 
full of sand or soil, moisten and put in a warm 
room, with a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees. Look 
at it from day to day. If the kernels sprout within 
four or live days and the germs come out uniformly, 
you may be pretty sure that the seed has a high 
vitality. If 90 kernels out of 100 sprout, you may 
consider your seed almost perfect. 

Planting and Cultivation. — The thickness of 
planting is a matter of opinion. On a good soil, 
three kernels to the hill, using the ordinary check- 
row planter, is very satisfactory. However, large 
yields often result from five kernels to the hill. The 
ears are smaller, making it more difficult to husk, 
consequently thinner planting is much more satis- 
factory. This also depends somewhat upon the 
variety of corn. Corn with a small stalk and a 



124 



FARM CROPS 



small ear can be planted much more thickly than 
corn with large stalks, a great abundance of leaves 
and large ears. Some people like to drill corn, 
but most think it is absolutely necessary to check 
it in order to give the corn the best cultivation and 
keep the land free from weeds. 

Begin early so as not to allow the weeds to get 

a start. A smoothing harrow or any of the numer- 

A ous weeders now on 

O Q-Q Q-® Q ©-0 the market are excel- 

lent for early cultiva- 
tion. If a heavy rain 



24 ftX \ 4^ ''\^J^ tion. it a heavy ram 

Q^.^Si&Z^s^OT^^ C) comes directly after 



24 FT, 




24 FT. 



@^.^ planting, go over the 
field with a harrow or 
weeder just as soon as 
the surface becomes 
crusted. This weeder 
can be used until the 



0--© (J) ®-© ©-© © corn is 3 or 4 inches 



SHOCKING CORN 



high, going over the 
field as often as neces- 
It is much bet- 
ter to spend a good 
deal of time on early 



Most corn is carried from the sary. 
row to the shock In a haphazard 
manner. To save steps is an in- 
cident seldom considered. Dif- 
ferent plans are used by cutters; 
the one here shows how the work ^nlf ;-,rofir-,n flTon fr-> Auraif 
can be very advantageously done. <-UitiVdLiun Luan lu wdiL 

until the weeds get a 
start, or until the rapid growth of the corn is checked 
by a caked surface. When the weeder can no longer 
be used, take an ordinary two-horse cultivator, with 
three or four shovels on each shank, and cultivate 
about 2 inches deep, quite close to the plant. 

By examining the root system of corn, you will 
find that the roots of the young plant do not extend 
over the entire surface at the earlier stages and the 



CORN 



125 



growth is not seriously injured by comparatively 
deep cultivation the first time. At subsequent cul- 
tivations it is desirable to cultivate more shallow 
and keep the shovels 7 or 8 inches from the plant. 
The deep cultivation should come early, so that the 
upper surface of the seed bed will be loose and 
mellow, thus preventing rapid evaporation of mois- 
ture. Later this deep stirring is not so necessary. 
Cultivate Corn Thoroughly. — The corn plant will 
not thrive among weeds, nor in a hard packed, dry 
soil. The object of cultivation is to keep the soil 
in proper con- 
dition for the 
growth of the 
corn. The weeds 
will all be rooted 
up in properly 
cultivating the 
corn. It is not 
essential as to 
how deep or how 
shallow or how 
often the corn 
is cultivated, as 
it is that it is 
cultivated when 

., J . -^ A necessary implement for the corn- 
it needs it. JtLS- field. The many fine cultivating teeth 
-11 r J ai"e quite a contrast to the old methods 
peciaiiy alter of corn culture of many decades ago. 
f^-^Tf^rir Ut^n^T^T -TO in Then it used to be that farmers plowed 
cvciy iieavy ram corn; now they cultivate it to keep the 
flip criil ic r,^nlrf^r\ weeds out, to mellow the earth, and to 
Liie boii ii5 pdCKca conserve the moisture. 

and should be 

Stirred as soon as dry enough. Cultivation must 
continue during the whole growing season — and not 
stop with the third or fourth time over. The larger 
varieties, especially, must be cultivated with one- 




CORN CULTIVATOR 



126 FARM CROPS 

horse after the corn is too big for the two-horse cul- 
tivators. A hard, baked crust should never be al- 
lowed to form in the cornfield until after the corn 
is in the roasting ear. Give shallow, close cultiva- 
tion while the corn is young and deeper and farther 
from the hills as the corn gets older. 

However, if on account of unfavorable weather, 
the corn gets weedy, any kind of cultivation that 
destroys the weeds most effectively is best. The 
kind and condition of the soil must determine the 
kind of cultivator. The disk does best in one place, 
the eagle claw in another, and the two, three and 
four-shovel gangs also have their places. On good, 
clean, well-drained land the two-row riding cul- 
tivators can be used to great advantage, while on 
rough or stumpy or stony land the two-shovel 
spring trip gang walking, or even the one-horse 
double shovel, and the hoe, must be resorted to. 
Keep the soil stirred and the weeds subdued. 

Cultivating Corn the Last Time. — It oftens hap- 
pens that after the corn has been laid by, heavy, 
dashing rains compact the surface soil, and when 
the ground dries out it cracks. Evaporation then 
begins to take place rapidly and unless something 
is done to recreate the soil mulch, the yield will 
be seriously curtailed. Some growers have used 
a sort of spading harrow just wide enough to go 
between two rows. It is drawn by one horse, and 
with it 6 to 8 acres a day can be gone over when 
the corn is so large that it cannot be worked with 
the ordinary cultivator. It pays to give this extra 
working, as the difference in yield sometimes 
amounts to as much as 8 bushels to the acre. The 
harrow can be a section of an ordinary spading 
harrow, or any kind of an implement that will break 



CORN 127 

up the crust to a depth of i to 2 inches. Just be- 
fore the last working it frequently pays to sow 
seeds of cowpeas, soy beans or crimson clover to 
act as gatherers of nitrogen. If the cornfield can 
be pastured after the crop has been removed, farm 
animals can find a great deal of excellent feed from 
a crop sowed just before the last cultivation. 

One of the important items in keeping the farm 
clean is to go through the field about tasseling 
time and pull out any noxious weeds that may be 
about ready to seed. This is necessary more es- 
pecially with velvet leaf, cocklebur, jimson weed, 
dock, milkweed and the like. Some farmers feel 
that after the last cultivation the corn crop can take 
care of itself. While in a sense this is true, it must 
be looked after very carefully. Weeds must be 
kept down around the outer edge so that seeds will 
not be distributed through the field. Fences must 
be looked after so that stock cannot get in and 
destroy the maturing grain. Then, as noted above, 
the efifect of heavy rains must be counteracted if 
possible. 

Field Selection of Seed. — Seed corn should be 
selected from the stalk in the field and not from 
the crib or from the shock at husking time. Ears 
selected from the crib or from the shock are not 
always as valuable for seed as their appearance 
would indicate. The splendid appearance of such 
ears may be due entirely to the favorable condition 
under which they grew. 

If we could trace these ears of fine appearance 
back to the field, we would find that a great ma- 
jority of them had come from a plant where there 
was but one stalk in a hill, or where there were 
many missing stalks in the drill row. Where this 



128 FARM CROPS 

was the case, the ear had grown extra' large and 
fine in appearance, because the plant upon which 
it grew had been favored with all of the plant food, 
all of the moisture and all of the sunshine that 
should have gone to two or three stalks. 

Make the selection just before the corn is cut by 
passing through the field and spotting the desir- 
able ears with paint. At husking time it is then 
easy to identify and separate them. If the corn is 
to be husked from the standing stalks, the selection 
is made just in advance of the buskers by passing 
through the field with a basket or sack, the select- 
ing and husking being done at the same time. In 
either case, select ears only from stalks that are 
growing under ordinary average conditions of 
stand. Good ears growing under normal field con- 
ditions owe whatever excellency they possess to 
some hereditary force residing in the mother plant. 
These hereditary qualities are transmitted by the 
plant to the ear, which, when planted, will have a 
tendency to perpetuate the good qualities of the 
parent ear. 

Ears which owe their excellency to favorable sur- 
roundings alone will not transmit their good quali- 
ties unless the favorable conditions are present the 
next season. The Ohio experiment station has 
conducted careful experiments along this line in 
order to determine the actual gain in production 
that might be secured by the field selection of seed 
corn. Ears were selected from plants growing in 
the field under normal conditions of stand compared 
with ears of the same variety and from the same 
field, but selected from the wagon instead of from 
the stalks before husking. The ears selected from 
the wagon were larger in size and of better appear- 



CORN 129 

ance than those selected from the stalk. Corn from 
the two selections when planted side by side showed 
an average gain for two years of 3.8 bushels an 
acre in favor of the plant-selected seed. 

Another thing in favor of the field selection is 
the power to overcome or counteract undesirable 
characteristics in the plant. On rich, first bottom 
soil the corn has a tendency to grow very tall and 
to produce the ears high up on the stalk. This is 
undesirable, as- it makes the corn difficult to handle 
and increase the tendency to go down during heavy 
windstorms. In field selections on such a land, 
pass by the ears that are above your heads and 
select only those that are produced at a desirable 
height on the stalk. 

In the field, make the selection of seed ears with 
respect to normal stand, vigor of plant and the 
height of the ear on the stalk. In the sorting after 
husking, make the selection with reference to ma- 
turity, conformation to type and seed condition. 
If the storage capacity is sufficiently large this final 
sorting and selection may be delayed until a con- 
venient time in the winter or early spring, other- 
wise it should be done as the corn is placed on the 
drying racks. In order to do this final sorting 
effectively and make an intelligent selection, have 
in mind an ideal ear and make all selections with 
this ideal in view. Color, shape of ear and other 
physical characteristics are considered and made to 
conform to the true ideal as nearly as possible. 
Discard all ears that are chaffy and immature. Very 
smooth, flinty ears are to be avoided because they 
usually have shallow grains and a low proportion 
of grain to cob. 

Tlie selected corn should be taken to a dry, well- 



130 



FARM CROPS 



ventilated storage room and placed on drying racks. 
If allowed to remain in the bags or in a pile on the 
floor, the drying of the corn is retarded and as a 
consequence the ears may show lack of vitality the 




SHOCKING CORN 

Where large quantities of corn are grown, the common 
method of shocking is to take four stalks as pictured here and 
to tie at the top, around which bundles are set. Some use 
the corn horse for the shocks. After starting the shocks the 
frame is withdrawn and the shock completed. For cutting 
corn different styles of knives are used, depending on the pref- 
erence of the cutters. The real art of building shocks that 
will stand consists of having the bundles set straight and the 
shocks securely tied when completed. 

following spring. It is of the utmost importance 
to keep seed corn from freezing, especially while it 
is still damp. 

Preventing Damage by Crows. — Place a quantity 
of strychnine the size of a grain of wheat in a wide- 
mouthed bottle and fill the bottle about one-half to 



CORN 131 

two-thirds full of shelled corn, then fill with water. 
Shake the bottle to dissolve the strychnine, and let 
it stand two days, until the grain has swelled and 
absorbed the strychnine solution. 

Just as the corn is coming up, or when the crows 
begin to pull it, scatter this poisoned corn broad- 
cast over the field either in the form of a long line 
or cross in the center of the field or a large circle. 
When the crows alight in the field they will pick 
up this poisoned corn before they will take the 
trouble to pull the planted corn, and the first crow 
that eats this corn will shortly feel the efifect of 
the poison and start for the woods. In doing so 
he utters peculiar cries or squawks, and sometimes 
will drop dead in his flight. Again, he may alight 
on a fence or adjacent tree, but before dying he 
usually has made such a fuss that other crows 
understand fully what the trouble is. Of course, 
the larger the flock that is with him the better, for 
they will all reach the conclusion that corn in the 
field is not proper to eat. It may be necessary to 
repeat the operation in a week or so, or perhaps 
sooner, if new crows visit the section. There are 
great numbers of crows wherever corn is grown 
and the damage they do is often very great. To 
save the corn destroy the crows. 

Putting Corn in Shocks. — Corn will dry out bet- 
ter if the shocks are kept down to a reasonable 
size. From 100 to 144 hills are usually enough, 
especially if the stalks are not exceedingly large. 
When husking time is at hand, the corn ought to 
be fairly well dried out. Instead of putting the 
fodder of each shock by itself, set two or three 
together. The fodder will keep in fine condition 
and later on will turn out bright and free from mold. 



132 



FARM CROPS 



If the corn shocks are to be hauled to the barn 
and husked and shredded by a machine, let a good 
frost or two first have a whack at the corn in the 
shock. A good freezing of stalk will do away with 
much trouble that ordinarily is found with shredded 
stover when stored in the barn or shed. My ex- 
perience is in favor of the shredder, but I early 







SHOCKING CORN BY MACHINERY 

This implement builds the shock on a platform as illus- 
trated. When the shock is completed, it is transferred from 
the machine to the ground by means of a derrick. The shocks 
are placed in rows. 

learned that early shredding, before the season of 
frost and ice was on good and hard, is not to be 
desired. I have since delayed the work until early 
vvinter, and I have not one bit of personal testi- 
mony against shredded stover. 



CORN 133 

Husking from Standing Stalks. — It is in the West 
and South only that stalk husking is to any extent 
done. But the end is in sight for it in both sec- 
tions. It is too great a waste for economical, wise 
farmers to approve. There has been reason for the 
practice in the West, because of large acreage and 
little labor. This, however, is righting itself. Crop 
rotation is working a change that will not only 
make farming pay better, but will increase the value 
of the corn crop. 

While cattle and horses secure much feed from 
fields after the corn is husked, they nevertheless 
leave much, because frost has bit stalk and leaf 
and maturity has hardened and made unpalatable 
the penned-in food of the dry, hard, wooden 
stalk. 

Hogging Off Corn. — While the practice of getting 
fall hogs ready for market by turning into the corn- 
field while still green is not new, it is a method not 
generally followed. There is a feeling that hogging 
off is wasteful and poor economy of labor and 
effort. But I have not found this to be true. The 
facts clearly indicate that the custom economizes 
labor and expense and the hogs do better. And 
that is the point — you get the most pork at the least 
expenditure of money. And what is more, the prac- 
tice is past the experimental stage. Practical farm- 
ers have proven it through their own experience ; 
and our experiment stations have verified these 
conclusions. 

Not only do hogs produce more with less grain 
in hogging off, but they actually mature in less 
time than when pen fed. It is not unusual to save at 
least a quarter of the fattening period where this 
method is followed. I have found also that it is 



134 FARM CROPS 

just as easy to prepare land for a subsequent crop 
after a corn crop has been taken by hogs as when 
corn was removed in the ordinary way. Nor have 
I found that hogs waste a bit more grain by hog- 
ging off than there is lost by ordinary husking. 
Hogs pick just about as clean as buskers. 

The labor item is not inconsiderable, either. A 
five to ten-acre field of good corn will carry 50 to 75 
hogs from the shote to the finished period. Of 
course, the nature of the corn — whether the crop is 
heavy or light — will govern the number of hogs 
that can be fed in this way, but you can be certain 
that the total quantity of pork produced from a 
given acreage when hogged off will be greater than 
when husked ears or snapped corn is fed in pens. 

Young hogs, weighing 80 to 125 pounds, are best 
to use in the green cornfield. At this age they are 
mature enough to do their best ; they possess good 
frames and carry enough flesh to fatten in a few 
weeks and at the same time be just ready for mar- 
ket. Of course, brood sows will make good use of 
green corn also. When thin from suckling or for 
any cause unthrifty, they will quickly flesh up and 
improve and be ready for market in from 30 to 
50 days. 

While corn may be hogged off at any period, it is 
best to let it mature somewhat. Then you get all 
there is in the crop. If the ordinary summer pas- 
ture is short, give some additional feed like shorts 
and middlings in slop to tide along until the corn is 
fairly well developed. When it has passed the milk 
stage, and is somewhat dented, turn in ; the hogs 
will do the rest. 

Movable fences are to be desired that the hogs 
may be kept from running over the entire field. 



CORN 135 

When used, you need not make more than two or 
three movings during the time the hogs have the 
field. This makes the hogs clean up as they move 
along. But circumstances will govern as to 
whether you ought to use such fences or not. You 
will have to take expense, soil, nature of the sea- 
son and length of feeding period into account. To 
give the entire field over to the hogs is the general 
practice when labor is high, the soil not wet, and 
the herd and field not large in size. Use old hogs, 
stock hogs and brood sows for cleaning up after the 
fattening bunch has been taken away. There won't 
be much left, of course, but still some ; if this were 
not so, the fattening hogs would have been fed 
rather unwisely for the last week or two. 

Saving Corn Fodder. — A ton of well-saved corn 
fodder is worth, if well used, the price of a ton of 
hay. Yet how rarely is it well saved or well spent ! 
Exposed after husking to all the storms of fall and 
winter, it becomes musty, mildewed, washed, and 
Aveather beaten ; hence a very poor fodder indeed. 
When fed it is thrown in the roughest and most 
careless way in the barnyard, where it is tramped 
down in the snow and mire, and the following spring 
is cursed as the greatest nuisance with which the 
farmer has to contend. 

But let stalks be shocked up carefully, spread 
well at the butts of the shock and tied closely at 
the top until the corn is husked, and then put up in 
convenient bundles and again set up so that the 
rain cannot penetrate the shocks ; and if as soon as 
cured it is carefully stacked or put away beneath 
the tight roof, it becomes an agreeable-looking, 
sweet-smelling, nutritious fodder, which will be 
readily eaten by all sorts of stock. If it is cut up 



136 



FARM CROPS 






with any of the various fodder cutters, or if at 
husking time it is passed through the shredding 
machine, when fed it will be largely consumed, and 
the manure pile in the spring will be altogether free 
, ^ 3 ^ s from the objectionable, unrotted 
and entangled stalks, while it will 
be quickly enriched by their fer- 
tilizing remains. If corn stover 
is properly cured, handled and 
fed the supply of feed will be 
t economized, often leaving hay to 
f spare for sale or permitting the 
i number of the feeding stock to 
• be doubled, and besides, what is 
i often a source of trouble and an- 
i noyance may be turned to good 
; account and money made by it. 
I COTTON.— While cotton has 
i been cultivated from ancient 
i ^ c/ ^ i times, it has been during the past 
one hundred years or so that the 
SHOCKING CORN greatest improvement has come in 

How the cutter can 1 1 • •, --m • , ,1 

cut the corn and dcvelopmg it. Thirty years ago the 
th^^shock wuh as South grew but 4,000,000 bales. 
lihie.^^^^^ ^^ ^^^" Now the record is more than 13,- 
000,000 bales. Cotton has largely 
supplanted other fabrics and the day will come 
when a 25,000,000-bale crop will be necessary. 
There is available land in the South to make 30,- 
000,000 bales with the present low average yield an 
acre. Of the 12 cotton states, only one acre in 17 
is now planted to the fleecy staple and only one acre 
in II of the cotton-producing counties. From these 
figures can be readily seen what a gigantic crop 
is possible when the demand for the fiber comes. 



COTTON 



137 



Those familiar with the situation are convinced 
that the acreage now devoted to cotton is sufficient 
in every way to supply every call from the cotton 
manufacturing world. In favorable seasons the 
methods now in vogue can be expected to give as 
large a crop as the market demands. If more acres 
are given to cotton, the pro- 
duction will be greatly in- 
creased but there will not be 
enough spindles to use it. 

To seek any material in- 
crease at present the cotton 
acreage would call for lands 
now less well adapted to the 
crop or for those now used for 
other profitable enterprises. 
These areas should not at 
present be disturbed. It is 
more important just now to 
get rotations started, pastures 
established, and live stock fixed 
into the scheme of Southern 
farming. When these things 
are done it will be time to plan 
for more cotton. 

The key to successful cotton 
making is not hard to find. 
When cotton follows cowpeas 
or other crops that add humus 
to the soil, it is profitably 
grown. When lands have been 
tilled with big plows, when 
good cultivation is given dur- 
ing the growing periody the 
yields will run all the way 




UPLAND COTTON 

The two species of 
cotton grown in the 
Southern states are 
Upland or Short Staple 
and Sea Island. The 
plant is a small annual 
shrub averaging 3 to 4 
feet high and branch- 
ing. The flowers are 
white or cream colored 
the first day, become 
reddish on the second 
and fall on the third, 
leaving a small boll 
enveloped in the calyx. 
This boll develops un- 
til it reaches approxi- 
mately the size and 
shape of a hen's egg, 
when it splits into 
three to five cells, lib- 
erating the enormous 
black seeds covered 
with the fibrous wool 
which constitutes the 
cotton of commerce. 



1.38 



FARM CROPS 



from one to two, or three bales an acre. This 
is the practical way to increase the supply of cotton. 
It is not to scramble for more acres, but for more 
pounds to the acre. At the prices that have pre- 
vailed during the past few years cotton farming is 
profitable. At the prices that prevailed a decade 

or so back cotton 
farming, as every 
man who has 
grown it knows, 
was not then a 
profitable enter- 
prise nor will it be 
now any more so 
than wheat at 50 or 
60 cents a bushel 
or milk at 2 or 3 
cents a quart. 

South Will Hold 
Cotton Monopoly.-- 
Some folks are dis- 
turbed about the 
old world lands that 
may be induced to 
wed with cotton. 
Who knows? 
While it is possible 
for new cotton 
growing sections to be developed, the fact still re- 
mains that now, and in all time to come the South- 
ern states will control cotton production and hold 
fast to the monopoly. Cotton farmers do not need 
to disturb themselves about what the future will 
bring forth. Certainly, any attempt to flood the 
market with cheap cotton in order to keep other 




COTTON BOLL 

The boll has just opened. The 
white fiber is easily detached from 
it. Picking cotton consists of pull- 
ing this white fiber from the open 
bolls. 



COTTON 139 

sections from developing the crop is not the policy 
to pursue, nor will it be considered for a single 
moment by anyone who sweats in the cotton field. 
That argument might just as well be directed toward 
wheat, or corn, or live stock or any other agricul- 
tural specialty. 

The first step in cotton farming is to give the 
present acreage the best sort of tillage possible. Too 
many farmers make cotton at a loss. While some 
cotton growers may be getting rich through cotton, 
on the average farm the crop just a little more than 
holds its own and does just a little better than to 
pay its own bills. The crop requires much seed, 
large quantities of fertilizer, a tremendous amount 
of hand labor and horse cultivation — besides the 
harvesting must be done by hand. It is, therefore, 
an expensive crop. As the average yield is under 
200 pounds an acre, there is no immense wealth in 
the business. What is really needed, is not more 
acres, but the acres now used for cotton to have 
better care and closer attention. That's the way to 
make more cotton. That's the way to keep the 
supply up with demand. That's the way to keep 
the monopoly in this country and to make cotton 
growing a profitable industry. 

How to Help Cotton Lands. — As matters now 
run the humus is being burnt out of the soil right 
along, the gullies still creep in and wrinkle the land 
and the soils yield no more, often less, than for- 
merly was the custom. As long as cotton is planted 
on the same land year after year, as long as the 
soil is slovenly plowed and prepared, as long as 
humus is denied, as long as crop rotation is ignored 
and seed injudiciously selected, the average yield 
will remain ridiculously low, the needs of the world 



140 FARM CROPS 

will be indifferently met and the cotton lands will 
not be improved. There must be redirection back 
of cotton farming. 

This redirection must include cowpeas and clover, 
stable manure, crop rotation, deep tillage and 
modern tools and implements. If the same total of 
manures, tillage and cultivation be given 25 acres 
that now go to 50 acres and the other 25 acres be 
turned over to corn and cowpeas, more profit will 
be realized in the end. Our real good cotton farmers 
are the proof of this. The average cotton farmer 
must seek success by throwing aside the obsolete 
one-horse plows and use in their place modern two- 
horse plows that will go down to reasonable depths 
in the soil. And this work should be begun as 
early as possible. Not in the spring after the cotton 
season has started ; but long before, in order that 
the land may be opened, aired, stirred up. After 
this has been done disk occasionally to release 
plant food and to get the soil into the very best 
physical condition. When the planting season ap- 
proaches, the harrow teeth should be set deep into 
the soil to fine and mellow the earth and to let the 
fat of the land ooze out that it may be at hand 
when the young roots have occasion to use it. 
These steps call for close application, but if to them 
are added good seed and vital manures an increased 
crop will surely result. 

Other Crops Should Be Raised. — In addition to 
cotton there should also be legumes, corn and other 
crops. Exclusive cotton growing is fast giving way 
to mixed farming. Diversification is now the order 
and every cotton farmer must get in line. Corn and 
cowpeas should be given places of equal importance 
with cotton. Not small, inconspicuous corners, but 




THE QUEEN OF AMERICAN CROPS 

At the top is shown a second cutting of alfalfa. At the 
bottom the fourth crop of the season, with pigs helping to 
harvest it. 




IN THE LAND OF COTTON 



Familiar scenes in the South. After heing picked the seed 
cotton is g-inned, the seed sold or returned to the farm and 
the lint pressed into bales and sold to the mills of this coun- 
try and Europe. 



COTTON 141 

big, broad fields where both crops can spread out, ex- 
pand and prove their worth. Both crops are needed 
— the cowpeas to rid the land of grass and gullies ; 
and the corn and cowpea hay for grain and forage. 

To make more money out of cotton more acres 
should be given over to food crops. Food stuflfs for 
the family and for the stock should all be grown on 
the farm. With much pasture and a good corn crop 
you can grow your own meat, feed your own stock 
with home-grown supplies and be largely independ- 
ent of imported ofiferings. The garden should be 
enlarged and included in it many winter crops. 
So also the dairy herd, in many cases, should be 
increased. With butter, milk, meat, poultry, eggs, 
fruit, vegetables and a dozen other products raised 
on the farm, both for home use and for sale. South- 
ern farming will grow more profitable and the 
cotton crop as clear money will give the South a 
financial prestige that no other section can rival. 

You see the South has been buying too many 
things raised elsewhere. If the corn, hay and meat 
bills only were saved to cotton farms, in a decade 
the change would be observable in a dozen ways. 
Instead of these farms being importing farms, they 
also should send to towns and cities human food 
on the same loads that carry the raw product for 
clothing. Consequently there ought to be much 
pork and beef each year for sale ; and the manure 
made from this farm stock will make the cotton crop 
still more profitable. The cottonseed meal, instead 
of being shipped to Europe and the North through 
this redirection of Southern farms, would be more 
and more consumed in Southern farming, thereby 
building up Southern lands to make Southern stock 
feeding still more profitable. And the money made 



142 



FARM CROPS 



by cotton in this way would be kept in the South, 
instead of being sent west for meat and feed. 

Best Kind of Cultivation. — Make a stand for 
good seed. And what is also quite to the point, 
select your own seed. Give the crop better care. 

Begin the cultivation early. 
Start with the weeder or 
fine-tooth harrow. I have seen 
much cotton and I have grown 
some myself where a hand hoe 
was never used. Some will 
hesitate at the start to elim- 
inate the hand hoe. The 
doubting ones can continue to 
use the hoe, but let it be after 
the fine-tooth harrow has gone 
along the rows tearing grass 
and weeds and thinning out 
some of the stalks ; for the 
finishing touches the hoe can 
then be used. The harrow in 




COTTON BOLL 



The house of seed 
and lint. In it are 
from three to five 
or inorG cgIIs in 

which are lodged the the early stages will also put 

commercial products. . ., . n ^ i-^* 

The size, shape and the SOU m excellent condition. 

general appearance of 
cotton bolls are char- 
acteristic of each par- 
ticular variety. 



It will warm the land, much to 
the pleasure of the cotton 
plant; and the millions and 
millions of grass seeds that lie at the top, sprout- 
ing or just ready to sprout, will be destroyed. 

Then, too, better care must be taken of the bales. 
While the moisture they may take up when exposed 
to all kinds of weather tends to increase the weight, 
it is fictitious and does not represent value ; it is 
also a dishonorable way to get something for noth- 
ing; and to say that others do it is not to meet the 
question face to face. On the one hand, while a 



COTTON 143 

cotton bale so exposed may weigh a bit more, on 
the other its quality is lessened. It is, therefore, 
doubtful if the advantage of water weight is not 
overcome by the loss in quality, and subsequent 
lower price. This cotton secret has been so gen- 
erally exposed that consumers are now on the look- 
out for it. Even though the buyer in your immedi- 
ate locality is not discriminating, ultimate buyers 
and the consumers are, and they pay less for the 
bales that have not been protected from the ele- 
ments. Somebody along the lines, therefore, 
profits by discrimination, but in the long run it is 
not the cotton producer. 

The market problem is also very troublesome. If 
cotton were marketed gradually as are other crops, 
there would be less variation in the prices that rule 
from September to July. The many growers who 
are forced to market early force the price down- 
ward to the joy of the speculators, and millions are 
lost to cotton growers, much of which is pocketed 
by cotton middlemen. It follows that it is a wise 
plan to keep out of the hands of storekeepers and 
money lenders. All cotton growers should preach 
the gospel of independence and urge their brother 
growers to raise the home supplies in order to keep 
out of debt. To be in debt for fertilizers and provi- 
sions is to jeopardize the value of cotton. When 
forced to sell cotton in the early market with the 
price low and the demand small, the weakest grower 
gets the long end of the pull and he finds it difiicult 
to keep going. If one is not in debt to the store or to 
a money lender or cotton factor, he will be able to 
market his crops slowly and as the price justifies. 

COWPEAS. — Too much cannot be said in praise 
of the cowpea. What clover is to the North, the 



144 FARM CROPS 

pea is to the South. On the poorest, sandy land, 
with 200 or 300 pounds of fertilizer, a crop of cow- 
peas can be made that will simply astonish a novice. 
Not only an abundance of choicest grain can be 
made from them, but the hay one acre will yield 
will three times pay the cost of the crop. The hay, 
if properly cured, is not just common rough feed, 
but in nutrition is unsurpassed. Horses, mules, cattle, 
sheep and goats will keep fat on the hay alone. 

The valuable effects of a pea crop can be seen 
in the land for several years. Land that is hard 
and inclined to run together, if treated with a crop 
of peas, will for several years after be open, easy 
to pulverize, and much more productive. Many 
farmers who have tried cowpeas and condemned 
them made the mistake of planting them too early; 
peas should be planted when the weather becomes 
warm. The land should be prepared and fertilized 
as for corn. Three of the best standard varieties 
are the Clay, a variety that will not rot, if left 
after ripening, and a heavy yielder; the Carson, 
a tough shuck pea that will not shell out readily 
when vines are cut, a heavy yielder and very hardy, 
the best for hay of any variety; and the old reliable 
Whippoorwill, which is a good variety where grain 
is most desired ; and will bear for several successive 
weeks if the ripe ones are picked off. Other va- 
rieties and all good ones are the Iron, Blackeye, 
Wonderful and Taylor. 

Because the cowpea is a native of the South some 
Northern farmers think they cannot grow it. This 
is a mistake. Indian corn is also a native of the 
South, but even the Indians by persistent selection 
acclimated it in Canada. The cowpea is a good 
soil enricher, and it will grow under more adverse 



COWPEAS 



145 



conditions than will clover. It is the best plant to 
start poor, sterile, abandoned fields on a course of 
usefulness. When all other plants, even rye, make 
a sickly showing, cowpeas, under good cultivation 
and a light application of superphosphate, make a 
fine growth. When plowed in, the soil is improved 
mechanically, and much nitrogen added. The cow- 
pea will grow on poor, rough soil if a decent seed 
bed is made, and a little food used to start them. 
Do not be discouraged if the first sowing does 
not make much showing. Plow it all in as soon as 
frosted, and sow 
the land to rye, 
using I bushel 
an acre for a 
winter cover 
crop, to hold the 
soil. In May, 
when the rye is 
about to head, 
plow it down and 
make another 
seed bed for the 
cowpeas. The 
soil becomes in- 
oculated with 
bacteria the first 

crop and now the while a great deal of cowpea hay is 

.,, 1 cured on racks, the greater part of the 

cowpea Will ue crop, especially in the South, is cured in 

^noKl^r! f^ fnl^^ ^ windrow, or in small shocks weighing 

eildUiea to taKe from 100 to 300 pounds. A rack such as 

mnrp nifrno-An ^^ here pictured is very excellent, but it 

iiiuic iiiLiUj^cu adds much to the cost of curing the hay. 

from the air. 

Naturally the soil will be more congenial and the 
growth surprising. As a nitrogen gatherer, a humus 
maker, and a consumer of rough plant food, the 




COWPEA RACK 



146 



FARM CROPS 



cowpea is not excelled if ever equaled by any 
other plant. 

As a Food Plant It is rich, succulent, palatable, 
with a high per cent of protein. It remains in a 
good condition longer than most other soiling crops. 
As a silage crop it is also good if mixed with corn 
or sorghum, but by itself it will not cure very well 
in the silo. As a hay crop it is excellent, but 

hard to cure in 
good shape. Its 
heavy vines and 
thick, fleshy 
leaves dry 
slowly. If sun- 
dried and han- 
dled much, the 
leaves will be 
lost. The best 
method to cure 
cowpeas is to 
allow the vines 
to wilt com- 
pletely, and 
then put up in 
narrow high 
cocks, allow- 
ing them to 
remain thus for 
about a week. It is usually cured through and can 
safely be stored. Do not make the cocks too high 
or the hay will mold. The cowpea is a tender bean, 
and will be killed by a frost the same as a garden 
bean, but heat, drouth, insects, fungi, etc., it fears 
not; it will overcome even Aveeds and continue to 
make its growth until nipped by frost. 




COWPEA SHOCK 

A shock of gi^een cowpea built on the 
peavine rack. When shocked in this 
manner, the hay is left in the field until 
thoroughly cured, when it is either 
stored in the barn or placed in large 
stacks or racks. 



COWPEAS 



147 



The cowpea will respond to good tillage. A well- 
fined, loose seed bed is the ideal one. Never plant 
until the ground is warm. Sow broadcast or with 
grain drill at the rate of one to two bushels to the 
acre. If sown broadcast the seed bed should be well 
prepared. When the seed is sown the land is well 
harrowed with a disk or cutaway. If planted in 
drills make rows about 28 inches apart, and cul- 
tivate a few times. This not only hastens the 
growth, but increases the yields considerably. The 
saving of seed is also an item in planting in drills, 
as only half as much seed is needed by this method. 

Cowpea Hay. — In feeding value well-cured 
cowpea hay is similar and about equal to alfalfa 
and red clover hay. Curing of cowpea hay requires 
especial care to avoid the dropping of the leaves, 
which occurs if the vines are overripe when cut, 
or if in curing they are too long exposed to sun- 
shine. Cut just after the dew is off, turn the vines 
several hours before sunset and put in windrows 
or cocks toward the middle of the next day. Hay 
caps are very useful in curing pea vines. German 
millet has been satisfactorily used for the same 
purpose with the early varieties of cowpeas, sowing i 
bushel of the latter and i peck of the millet per acre. 

DURUM WHEAT.— The group of wheat that 
furnishes the great bulk of macaroni paste. Until 
recently these wheats were grown quite entirely 
outside of the United States. The experiments 
made in this country have been favorable to their 
production and large areas are now annually given 
over to the durum varieties. These wheats are 
desired in this country because of the hard grain. 
No wheat has such a hard, flinty character as the 
durum. The plants are somewhat different from 



148 



FARM CROPS 



ordinary wheat. They are rather tall ; the leaves 
are smooth ; the heads slender, sometimes short, 
but compact and always bearded with very long 
beards. The grains are a whitish yellow, rather 
long and very hard. 

This wheat likes a soil rich in vegetable matter 
and therefore rather fertile. Its choice is for a hot, 

dry climate, and soils of 
an alkaline nature are 
much liked. Durum is 
raised very largely in the 
great plains district. 
There soil and climate are 
favorable and the wheat 
resists the drouth more 
successfully than most 
other crops. Now that 
durum wheat growing has 
become fully established 
its acreage will increase 
to meet the demand for 
the macaroni and other 
forms of edible pastes. 

EMMER.— A very old 
wheat cultivated from the 
most ancient times. Its 
growing so far has been 
limited to Northwestern 
states. It is prized there 
for its drouth-resisting 
qualities. It thrives best 
in the dry prairie region 
and seems to like the hot 
summers. Its use has 
been limited so far to 




DURUM WHEAT 



The head is heavily 
bearded, much more so than 
the ordinary wheats. In ap- 
pearance it is much like 
barley. They vary in color 
from light yellow to almost 
black. 



FIELD BEANS 1 49 

stock food. Its feeding value is very similar to 
wheat. The yield runs well, anywhere from 25 to 
60 bushels to the acre in the arid Western wheat 
district. Both winter and spring varieties are 
grown, the spring varieties being the most popular. 
It is doubtful if emmer will enter very largely into 
the stock food crops of the country. It can be used 
in sections where the soil and climate suit, but the 
area is likely to be limited. 

FIELD BEANS.— Beans do their best on an in- 
verted clover sod. The larger and later varieties 
seem to be more grown where the agriculture is 
more diversified, where more potatoes and corn are 
grown, and a four or five-year rotation is followed. 
In these localities the beans are usually planted on 
inverted sod land ; but sometimes follow corn or 
potatoes. Since they come off the land too late to 
allow of proper fitting of the latter for wheat, they 
are usually followed by oats or other spring sown 
crops. Early plowing is essential to best results 
with beans. The time of planting varies somewhat 
with locality. Early planting of beans is not to be 
recommended. The seeds rot quickly if placed in 
soil too cold or too wet for quick germination, and 
even if a fair stand is secured the young plants do 
not get an even start. At harvest time, this un- 
equal start results in uneven ripening — one of the 
troubles of the bean grower. If planting be de- 
layed until the soil is thoroughly warm, uneven 
ripening is not so likely to occur. 

Nearly all growers plant beans in drills. The 
distance between drills varies from 24 to 32 inches, 
and is usually 28 inches. The ordinary grain drill 
is used almost exclusively for planting the small 
varieties, stopping the tubes that are not needed. 



150 FARM CROPS 

Special bean planters are more used in localities 
where the large beans are grown. The amount of 
seed required to the acre varies with the variety. 
Of the small beans, many growers plant one-half 
bushel an acre, though some claim better results 
with three pecks, or even one bushel. Five or 
even six pecks to an acre of kidney beans are recom- 
mended, and intermediate amounts of the other 
varieties according to size. 

If soil conditions are right, beans come up 
quickly and the cultivation may begin early. When 
they first appear above ground the young plants are 
tender and break easily, so that care is required in 
working among them. The weeder cannot well be 
used on the field at this time, though some farmers 
use it after the plants are forward enough to have 
become somewhat toughened. Cultivators of vari- 
ous design are used in the bean fields. The wheel 
tools cultivating two or more rows at a time are 
coming much into use. The culture required by 
the bean is similar to that of other intertilled crops. 
The cultivation should be frequent enough to keep 
the weeds from starting and the crust from forming 
on the surface of the soil. Cultivation should not 
be given while the leaves are wet with dew or rain, 
as the soiling of the leaves seems to favor the 
development of disease. 

FIELD PEAS. — These grow upright for a time 
and then, unless sustained by other grain sown 
along with them, they fall over and complete their 
growth in a recumbent position. This trailing 
habit unfits field peas for a pasture crop, excepting 
for swine. Their chief value is for forage. They 
may be used either for hay or soiling. They are 
most frequently grown along with oats. The best 



FIELD PEAS 151 

soil for peas is a porous moist clay loam. They will 
not do well in wet lands. Sandy loams are good, 
provided there is an abundance of moisture. Good 
preparation should be given the soil previous to 
seeding. Fall-plowed land is the best. They are 
most frequently planted in combination with oats. 
In a general way two bushels of oats and one bushel 
of field peas are used to the acre. These may be 
mixed before seeding and sown broadcast or with 
a drill. The best results are obtained b}^ sowing 
the two crops separately. The peas are scattered 
over the land and disked in to a depth of 3 or 4 
inches. Following this at once, or shortly after, 
should come the oats either in the grain drill or by 
hand and broadcasted. 

The peas will stand a greater depth than the oats 
and do better if covered 3 or 4 inches deep. The 
two crops in combination work excellently. The oats 
give the peas support that they need and the peas 
add nitrogen to the soil and through the bacteria 
supply much that they need for their own growth. 
When oats and peas are grown as a dual crop the 
harvesting is about the time the oats are in the milk. 
As a hay it is both appetizing and nutritious and as 
a food for dairy cows is unsurpassed. In many 
dairy sections the custom prevails of seeding each 
spring a small acreage to oats and peas to get an 
early soiling crop. When the crop reaches a 
height of a couple of feet daily cuttings are made 
and these are given to the cows as green forage. If 
the clover or alfalfa crops are available or the pas- 
ture is ready before all of the oats and peas are 
used up it is customary to cut the remaining part 
and use as hay. 

FLAX. — In this country flax is grown primarily 



152 FARM CROPS 

for seed. The demand for linseed oil makes the 
growing of flax profitable in some sections of the 
country. Then, too, the by-product, or linseed 
meal, is extremely valuable as a stock food. For 
this crop a moist, deep loam having good drainage 
is best. This applies for both seed and fiber va- 
rieties. Inasmuch as flax is a heavy nitrogen feeder 
the soil must contain an abundant supply of this 
fertilizing element. This is most cheaply obtained 
when clover and other legumes are grown. In 
seeding as soon as the weather settles and the 
ground is warmed up, the seed is sown 2 or 3 pecks 
to the acre. A heavier seeding than this crowds 
plants and lessens the seed yield. Heavier seedings 
are preferred for fiber and in this case from a bushel 
to two bushels of seed are used to the acre. The 
heavy seeding prevents the branching of the stalks 
and induces a single stem instead. 

For fiber the seed is spread broadcast and for 
seed both broadcast and in drills. When the seeds 
are full and plump and have good color, it is time 
to harvest. The binder is used for the purpose. 
When the bundles are cured they are put in small 
stacks or stored in the barn until threshing time. 
A common grain threshing machine will serve the 
purpose well. The yield of flax seed runs from 8 
to 15 bushels to the acre. 

GERMAN MILLET.— See Millets. 

HAIRY VETCH.— See Vetches. 

HEMP. — An erect annual grown for its fiber- 
bearing qualities. This fiber is taken from the 
inner bark and is closely bound together by resin- 
ous gum. The rich, well-drained bottom lands are 
best for hemp, but uplands, if fertile and moist, 
may be used. Much moisture is an essential factor 



HEMP 153 

in growing the crop. The usual seeding time is in 
the spring about the time oats and spring rye are 
sown. For fiber about a bushel of seed is used to 
the acre ; the seed is scattered broadcast and har- 
rowed in. No cultivating or weeding is required 
during the growing period. 

Hemp is a ravenous feeder of nitrogen, calling 
for heavy applications of barnyard manure or 
legumes like cowpeas, soy beans or vetch to pre- 
cede it. Heavy applications of fertilizer are also 
advisable, cottonseed meal being especially good. 
About 200 pounds can be used to the acre. In 
addition to the meal, 200 pounds of acid phosphate 
and 200 pounds of sulphate of ammonia are recom- 
mended for poor soils. Harvesting takes place 
when the fiber is in full blossom. It is cut with a 
heavy reaper, the stalks close to the ground. The 
bundles are left on the ground until they are rotted 
by the dew and rain, then shocked like corn and 
tied in bundles or stacked. The yield of fiber 
varies from 750 to 1,500 pounds to the acre. 
The higher the plant the heavier the yield. It is 
estimated that an increase of 12 inches in height 
means an increase of 150 pounds of fiber to the 
acre. The fiber sells for from 6 to 8 cents a pound. 

Some hemp is sown for seed, which is used as 
bird and poultry food, and for making oils to mix 
with paints and for soap making. If seed is 
wanted, the seeding should be made in rows or in 
hills with cultivation similar to corn. Use about 
2 quarts of seed to the acre. The harvesting is 
similar to corn. The stalks are made into shocks 
and tied. When thoroughly dry the threshing 
takes place, usually with a flail. The yield varies 
from 30 to 35 bushels to the acre. 




154 



HOPS 155 

HOPS.— This perennial climbing vine is grown 
principally for its use in beer making. The foliage 
is harsh, the stems rough and the height from 10 
to 25 feet. While hops can be grown nearly every- 
where, they are cultivated in only a few places. 
California and New York are the leading hop 
states. A sandy loam relatively fertile is prefer- 
able, and it should be moist, although not wet. 
Some manure should be given to each hill and 
worked well into the soil where the plant is to grow. 
These heavy applications of well-rotted manure al- 
ways pay. Liberal use of manure between rows is 
desirable. 

The hop grows vigorously and makes its growth 
in about three months ; therefore requires plenty 
of food if it is to yield its best. Roots are used in 
propagating. The root cuttings should be selected 
with two or more bud eyes and these laid in rows 
7 feet apart each w^ay. Two or three root cuttings 
can be given to a hill. It is best to place these 6 
or 8 inches apart and to cover 2 or 3 inches deep 
with mellow soil. 

When the hop vines have reached a length of 
about 2 feet they require training. One or two 
poles from 15 to 20 feet long are set firmly in the 
ground at each hill and on these the vines are 
trained. During the latter part of August or the 
first of September hops are said to be ripe and are 
then picked. The hop vines are cut down and the 
hops picked by hand into boxes, baskets or in piles. 
A good picker will gather from 150 to 200 pounds 
of green hops a day. After picking over they are 
cured usually by artificial heat and in the commer- 
cial sections in kilns. This work being a tech- 
nical problem, experience and judgment are neces- 



156 FARM CROPS 

sary. These are learned only through practice. 
Following the drying comes the cooling and baling. 
They are put through a sweating process and then 
pressed into bales weighing about 200 pounds and 
sewed up in baling cloth. 

HUNGARIAN MILLET.— See Millets. 

INDIAN CORN.— -See Corn. 

ITALIAN RYE GRASS.— A quick growing 
grass and often used in permanent pastures. It 
fancies a moist, loamy soil rather rich in lime. 
When so provided, it makes an excellent hay. If 
reasonably well fertilized, in two months after seed- 
ing a good cutting of hay may be secured. For 
this reason it is prized as a soiling crop. It can- 
not withstand drouth and it does poorly on stiff, 
clay lands. 

For hay, the cutting should be when in bloom. 
From 2 to 3 tons are usually secured to the 
acre. In seeding about 2 bushels of seed are re- 
quired to the acre. If seeded in mixtures, half of 
this quantity should be used. Both fall and spring 
sowings are practiced. It usually runs its course 
in two or three years, and, therefore, is not valuable 
for permanent meadows. It is a good plan to have 
other plants like red top and timothy in the seed 
mixture to succeed as it dies out. 

JAPAN CLOVER.— A Southern pasture grass 
and unsurpassed in some of the more southern 
localities as a hay crop. It grows on the poorest, 
barest red clay knobs and on the exhausted gravelly 
or worn-out sands and at the same time produces fair 
grazing. It is a legume and a good soil renovator. 
Its roots are richly supplied with nitrogen-gather- 
ing tubercles. In the heat and drouth of midsum- 
mer when plants like common red and white clover. 



JAPAN CLOVER 157 

timothy and Bermuda grass ate dried up or at a 
standstill in the pastures, Japan clover grows vigor- 
ously and luxuriantly holds its green and palatable 
qualities for stock until the heavy frosts come on in 
the fall. 

Besides this, once started it spreads rapidly and 
crowds out the common and worthless plants of 
the neighborhood. Because of its thick manner 
of forage it withstands tramping and the closest 
grazing of stock. It is successful as far north as 
Maryland and as far west as Kansas and Texas. 
Its greatest usefulness is from Virginia southwest 
to the gulf. Japan Clover is an annual and dies 
down each year, leaving its stems, leaves and roots 
to decay and enrich the soil. From the soil which 
falls to the ground or which is scattered by the 
wind or in the manure of grazing animals the crop 
of the following 3^ear is produced. It is not a weed 
and can be eradicated by plowing as easily as red 
clover. It is a low spreading plant, standing from 
8 to 12 inches in height. On poor, dry soils it 
spreads out flat and may not exceed 3 or 4 inches 
in height. Farther to the south, where it makes 
good hay, it frequently attains a height of 2 feet 
and as much as 2 tons of hay are made to the acre. 
It is, however, a crop primarily for pasture and for 
soil renovation. To secure the best quality of 
forage it should be kept pastured rather closely, 
as the more mature plants get woody near the base. 
It is practically impossible to graze so closely as 
to prevent reseeding. This clover is seldom seeded 
in pastures, but is allowed to come in naturally. 
It is so valuable, however, that this is too slow a 
method to obtain its rejuvenating effects for the 
land. 



158 FARM CROPS 

It would pay to sow the seed as any other crop. 
In seeding a light harrowing will not be amiss, but 
the ordinary rains will sufficiently cover the seed. 
When warm weather approaches it grows rapidly 
until frost comes. Its greatest value is as a restorer 
of worn-out fields, and to do such work it stands 
unequaled among the renovating crops of the 
South. 

JAPANESE MILLET.— See Millet. 

KAFIR CORN. — As a substitute for corn in the 
semi-arid regions of the West kafir corn is a great 
success. It grows from 4 to 8 feet in height. The 
stalks are thick, rather short jointed, with broad 
leaves much like corn leaves. The grain is centered 
in the head, which is compact, ranging from 10 to 16 
inches in length. There is not much nutrition in 
the stalks. The leaves, however, are good and 
very good yields are obtained from each acre of the 
grain. The yield ranges from 35 to 50 bushels to 
the acre. In good years, with a reasonable amount 
of moisture and on rather good soils 75 to 100 
bushels of grain may be secured. 

Grown side by side in these dry sections kafir 
corn as a rule outyields Indian corn. Varieties in 
general cultivation are the red, white and black 
hulled. The red and black hulled are the 
best yielders and both are hardy. The grain is 
used as a substitute for Indian corn. It is used 
very successfully for feeding horses and for fatten- 
ing hogs and cattle or other farm stock. For fat- 
tening purposes it is not far behind Indian corn. 
Since the yield in these dry lands is greater with 
the kafir corn a little more pork is usually secured 
to the acre from growing it than from the Indian 
corn. Kafir stover looks very much like or- 



KAFIR CORN 159 

dinary stover, but is not so palatable. When 
grown for hay kafir corn is seeded broadcast and 
if the crop is cut when the grain is in a dough stage 
a great deal of forage will be obtained. When the 
kafir corn crop is cut, if this be done early in the 
season, a second crop frequently grows up and not 
infrequently this second crop can be used for pas- 
ture. Considerable damage to live stock has re- 
sulted from pasturing the second crop. Bloat is 
not uncommon and often the animals die with ail 
the symptoms of acute poisoning. The real rea- 
son for this is not known. 

The crop is adapted to all soils, but it fancies 
most the rich corn lands. It will do better in poor 
soils, however, than ordinary corn. If a sudden 
drouth comes on when other corn is completely 
killed kafir corn will curl up its leaves and cease 
to grow, but still hold life. AA^ith the first rain it 
begins to grow again just as if its life had not been 
threatened at all. If the stalks are cut and subse- 
quent rains come, a second and often a third crop 
are possible. 

In preparing for kafir corn, go about it just as 
you would for corn. A good seed bed is very 
desirable. When seeded in rows, about 7 pounds 
to the acre are sufficient. The rows should be 3 feet 
apart and the grains distributed from 4 to 6 inches 
in the row. If seeded broadcast for hay, use from 
I to 2 bushels to the acre. The grain drill is used 
very largely for seeding purposes. The custom 
is to close the second, third and fourth feeds, leav- 
ing the first and fifth feeds open. It is advisable to 
test the adjustment out before beginning to plant in 
the field. Since kafir corn is a warm weather plant, 
the planting season is usually after the regular corn 



l6o FARM CROPS 

planting time. If planted when the ground is cold 
the grain may rot or make an otherwise poor start. 
During the first four or five weeks the growth is 
slow and the plant not so vigorous as ordinary- 
corn. When the crop is matured the grain should 
not be taken from the stalks until fairly well dried. 
The custom is then to cut the tops or heads from 
the stalks and to let them thoroughly dry out in the 
field or barn. They are then threshed and stored. 

The grain heats when stored in large quantities 
and for this reason often the germinating power is 
destroyed. Care must be taken in this respect to 
secure the next year's seed. Poor seed more fre- 
quently results from the way the grain is handled 
after threshing than from other reasons. In cul- 
tivating do just as is the custom with corn. List- 
ing or level planting may be practiced. It all 
depends upon the locality and the soil conditions. 
Usually three to four months are required to mature 
the crop. When both grain and fodder are desired 
the corn harvester may be used for cutting, and 
shocking may be done in order to cure the stalks 
and grain. For general feeding during the winter 
time the shocks containing the grain can be hauled 
direct to the feed lot. The best results will be ob- 
tained, however, by threshing and grinding the 
grain. 

KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS.— This grass does 
best on a rich, rather moist soil. On dry, gravelly 
soil it will start very well if sowed in the fall or 
early spring, but the hot, dry weather of summer 
will arrest its growth and it will make very little 
pasturage from July to September. In many 
places it comes up and maintains itself without 
sowing seed. When grown on a soil which suits, 



KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS 



l6l 



it makes most excellent hay. When grown on dry, 

gravelly soil the hay is likely to be wiry and poor. 

It is more tenacious than the other meadow grasses 

and in time tends to run out the timothy. If once 

introduced, it is probable that it will go all over the 

farm, even into the fence corners. It will produce 

very nice pasture 

early in the spring, 

and if the land is 

fertile, late in the 

fall. It should be 

fully understood, 

however, that blue 

grass furnishes but 

little midsummer 

pasture on gravelly 

soil. 

Blue grass starts 
early in the spring 
and is considered 
to be rather better 
for producing milk 
than young clover. 
In laying down a 
permanent pasture 
it is customary to 
fit the ground un- 
usually well and 
sow about I bushel 
of blue grass to an 

acre, allowing 14 pounds to the bushel, with timothy, 
clover and orchard grass. It starts slowly and 
does not make a good pasture grass until about a 
year from sending; therefore, some other plants 
must be depended upon for the first year. Finally, 




KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS 

An excellent grass indispensable 
for permanent pastures. Once firmly 
established it returns of itself even 
though the land be plowed and 
given over for a short time to corn 
and wheat. It is not grown for 
hay. It is best appreciated in the 
Middle Western states. 



1 62 FARM CROPS 

do not sow it for pasture on gravelly soil, but the 
clovers, particularly the alsike, with orchard grass 
and timothy, since all of these furnish more mid- 
summer pasture than blue grass does. 

LESPEDEZA.— See Japan Clover. 

LUPINES. — A legume valued most for green 
manure. Up to the present time lupines have not 
entered to any extent into American farming. In 
Europe these plants are cultivated to some extent 
for forage, but even there they are most largely 
used as green manures. They are especially valu- 
able for this purpose on the light sandy soils too 
poor to grow anything else. They are not suited 
to calcareous soils or to wet lands. Seed should be 
sown at the rate of i^ to 2 bushels to the acre 
following corn planting time. In the Far West, 
especially in Montana and Idaho, some of the wild 
varieties are grown in abundance and when cut 
very large quantities of hay are secured. It is not 
likely that these plants will enter to any extent in 
American agriculture. 

MAIZE.— See Corn. 

MAMMOTH CLOVER.— This strong, vigorous 
legume calls for much moisture and strong land. 
Like common red clover, it is a biennial and on con- 
genial soils lives longer than the common red clover. 
It resembles the common variety in form and leaves 
and in general habit of growth. The stems and 
heads are larger. It attains to a greater height, 
matures later in the season and its roots are large 
and penetrate the soil to a great depth. One crop 
of hay is usually obtained and after that is har- 
vested little pasture is secured. It grows its best 
in fertile soils and in warm and cold climates, but 
it does not have the wide distribution that the com- 



MAMMOTH CLOVER 163 

men red variety enjoys. It occupies the same place 
in the rotation and calls for the same methods of 
seeding and preparation that are given the common 
red variety. When sown alone, the usual amount 
is 10 pounds of seed to the acre, but when sown in 
combination with other seeds, this amount is pro- 
portionately reduced. 

It is a good plan, and many farmers follow it, 
to seed mammoth clover and common red clover 
together. By so doing you get the vigorous early 
growth in the spring and the late growing in the 
fall of the red variety and you get the vigorous 
growing of the mammoth variety during the sum- 
mer months. The mammoth variety is more inclined 
to lodge and is more difficult to harvest and to cure 
than is the small red variety. It yields a little 
heavier to the acre, but the hay is coarser and is 
not so popular with feeders nor so much relished 
by animals. 

Mammoth clover is especially prized as a green 
manure. Some farmers who plan to plow under 
the crop preparatory to corn or potatoes, seed it 
for the soil effect rather than for its value as hay. 
The crop is pastured and often very severely. But 
the large roots and coarse stalks furnish the soil 
an abundance of vegetable matter, which is always 
to the liking of the corn plant when it follows after. 

MANGELS. — Of all the root crops, the mangel- 
wurzel or stock beet is, perhaps, the most important, 
both as to feeding value and amount of yield to the 
acre. Turnips make a valuable catch crop, but the 
mangel must be sown early in the season and cul- 
tivated to secure a satisfactory yield. The freer the 
ground from Aveed seeds, the less arduous will be 
the work of cultivation. 



164 



FARM CROPS 



The soil should be well stirred, harrowed and 
leveled. If possible, choose a well-drained location 




THE SUGAR MANGEL 

This is tlie Danish improved and is a favor- 
ite with many feeders. Its sugar content is 
much higher than the common varieties. 

and c^ive a liberal application of well-rotted manure. 
The seed may be put in with an ordinary garden 
seed drill g-aug^ed to sow rather thickly in the row 
to insure a good stand. The rows should be run 



MANGELS 165 

about 20 inches or 2 feet apart, as the tops soon fall 
over and shade the ground between, discouraging 
weed growth. As soon as the young plants can be 
seen, go along the rows and pull out all the weeds, 
giving the young plants a chance to get a good start. 
In a week take the hoe and cultivate the ground 
between the rows, thinning out the plants as you 
go along. This may be done by taking the hoe and 
skimming off the unnecessary plants near the top 
of the ground, using care not to disturb those you 
wish to save. Six inches apart in the row is as 
close as they should stand, and if the soil is in good 
condition and rich, 8 to 10 inches is better. 

Give shallow cultivation throughout the season, 
or until the plants spread out and cover the space 
between the rows, when they may be left to their 
growth. They should not be harvested until Oc- 
tober or November, when they may be stored like 
turnips and cabbage. 

MEADOW FESCUE.— An exceedingly valuable 
plant for use in part in permanent pastures. It is 
of long duration and in the Southern states remains 
green over winter. Rich, moist clay or loam soils 
are most fancied by it, ])ut it does fairly well on 
all kinds of soils, even if they are dry. Blue grass 
and orchard grass seem to resist drouth better than 
this fescue. When at its best it reaches a height 
of 4 or 5 feet, though 2 or 3 feet is more of an 
average when seeded with other grass seeds. It 
is a perennial and grows in bunches like orchard 
grass. It has stout fibrous roots, and rather abun- 
dant leaves that are from i to 2 feet in length. In 
seeding, from 2 to 3 bushels are used to the acre. 
It is seeded just as timothy is. The first year or 
two it is not conspicuous in growth, but after the 



i66 



FARM CROPS 



third year it becomes fully established. It readily 
yields from I to 2 tons of hay to the acre. The 
best time to cut is when the plants are in flower. 
It is a very good crop for overflow lands, as the 
overflows do not damage it. Its many good qual- 
ities should place it in every grass mixture, whether 
for pastures or meadows. 

MEADOW FOXTAIL.— A hardy perennial 
much like timothy in appearance. The leaves are 
short, the stalks thick, making a rather coarse hay. 
It starts to grow earlier in the spring than 
timothy, but does not do very well alone. 
It takes about two years to get it fully es- 
tablished. For this reason it 
should be used as part of a grass 
mixture, either for permanent 
meadow or permanent pasture. 
When grown alone it yields 
from I to 2 tons to the acre. It 
stands high manuring, but has no 
inclination to spread like blue 
grass or Bermuda. Its chief value 
is in mixtures of meadows and 
pastures. 

MELILOTUS ALBA. — See 
Sweet Clover. 

MILLETS. — A general name 
that includes many varieties of 
grasses. While this group includes many food 
products the millets are grown in this country 
chiefly for forage. Millet is a popular catch crop. 
If the winter wheat has failed, or for some reason 
the corn land was not fitted for the crop, a little 
later on the land can be prepared and seeded to 
some variety of millet. The three principal groups 




mi 



MEADOW FOXTAIL 



MILLETS 167 

are, Foxtail, Barnyard and Broom Corn millets. 
The most common varieties are identified with the 
first class, including Common, German, Hungarian 
and Golden Wonder. 

Japanese millet is closely allied to the German 
variety. There are several different millets, how- 
ever, that come under the name of Japanese. The 
Barnyard millets are known as barnyard grass and 
very common. In this country they are used ex- 
clusively for forage, although in India the grain 
is largely used as food for the people. 

Pearl millet, a variety that has received a good 
deal of advertising in recent years, goes under 
many names, among which are Penicillaria, Egyp- 
tian millet and Cat Tail millet. This variety is 
erect, growing to a height of from 8 to 16 feet. It 
bears its seeds in a slender, cylindrical head which 
varies from 8 to 12 inches in length. It is a very 
succulent annual and there is much difference of 
opinion as to its usefulness. It is a heavy producer 
and may be cut two or three times during a season. 
It is not liked so well as a hay crop, because of the 
difficulty of curing. It is much valued for pastur- 
ing or soiling. 

Millet is really a summer crop and likes warm 
weather. It also likes warm soils. It is frequently 
seeded in poor land, but the crop really requires 
a fertile soil. A strong objection to the crop from 
the soil standpoint is the fact that it feeds only near 
the surface. On account of the rank growth much 
moisture is necessary if a heavy crop is to be ob- 
tained. For this reason clay loams are best. In 
moist climates where the summer rainfall is rather 
liberal, the sandy soils, if fairly fertile, will produce 
abundantly. 



l68 FARM CROPS 

The usual time to seed is after corn planting or 
any time during June. The seed bed should be 
deep and well prepared. The millet seeds are small 
and, therefore, a thorough preparation of the ground 
pays. About a half l^ushel to the acre is used for 
seed when the Hungarian, German or Common 
millets are grown, but when the Broom Corn or 
Barnyard millets are grown, heavier seeding is 
necessary. The usual custom is to seed broadcast 
and slightly cover with a harrow. In some places 
the seed is drilled. The crop can be cut for soiling 
in about two months and a period slightly longer 
than this will mature a crop of hay. 

When millet hay is fed to horses disorder often 
results, placing the crop in the undesirable list of 
hay feeds for horses. No trouble has ever been 
occasioned when fed to other classes of live stock. 
When millet has been used as a soiling crop or put 
into a silo it has been very favorably used as a horse 
feed. It is advisable in harvesting to allow the 
millet to lay some hours before raking. The stems 
being large and succulent, some time is necessary 
for the drying-out process. A good practice is to 
put the millet in shocks from the windrows and to 
let the hay cure in the shocks for several days. In 
warm weather there is no difficulty in curing the 
hay, but if the season is against rapid curing, millet 
is more difficult to handle than clover. 

Anywhere from 2 to 4 tons to the acre may be 
obtained. The Japanese variety yields very heavily 
and is one of our most desirable soiling varieties. 
Indeed the heaviest yielding millet is, without doubt, 
the Japanese barnyard variety. If grown for seed 
in good soils, from 65 to 90 bushels are procurable 
from an acre. On lighter soils the yield drops down 



MILLETS 169 

to 20 or 30 bushels. Japanese foxtail is a good 
yielding variety and when carefully grown in the 
same land as the preceding variety yields all the 
way from 40 to 55 bushels to the acre. Japanese 
broom corn millet gives a very heavy seed, but does 
not yield as much as the others. In the neighbor- 
hood of 30 bushels is considered a fair average for 
average soils. The German millet yields about the 
same as the Japanese foxtail millet. 

While any of the millets are excellent as feed, 
caution must be observed when used as such. They 
should be fed sparingly and in combination with 
other foods. Their laxative action when green af- 
fects the digestive organs and if fed in too large 
quantities, disorders and disturbances arise. The 
seeds, when well formed, produce an injurious 
effect on the kidneys of the horse. 

As a farm crop, millet has its place. While not 
generally used as a fixed crop in a fixed rotation 
system, it can frequently be employed with great 
satisfaction and profit. When the pasture and hay 
crops are short for any reason these can be easily 
supplemented by growing millet. Millet is fortunate 
in being usually free from fungous pests and in- 
sects. Whenever any of the fungous diseases or 
insects are found, they do little damage to the crop. 

MILO MAIZE. — A non-saccharine sorghum. 
The plant tillers abundantly and produces tall, 
slender and succulent leaf stalks. The seed is in 
a compact sorghum-like head. Two varieties are 
cultivated : the white Milo and the yellow Milo. 
The first demands a long growing season to reach 
maturity, but the yellow is rather early. The habit 
of growth is erect and a great height is attained. 
The plants produce an abundance of leaves, all of 



170 FARM CROPS 

which are of fine quality. A rich soil is wanted, 
but in dry regions the kafir corn and ordinary 
sorghums are more popular than this forage plant. 
It is used only for soiling or as a fodder. 

MUSKMELONS.—In growing melons the 
ground should be prepared about the same as for 
corn. It should be marked off 4 feet each way, 
using a one-horse turning plow, one way, furrow- 
ing out rows to the depth of about 6 inches. Use 
about one scoopful of well-rotted stable manure to 
three or four hills, being careful to get manure 
well down. Cover with soil and press it down well, 
then drop seed on top of same, covering about i 
inch deep. If troubled with mice taking seed, they 
can be controlled to a great extent with poison. 
Commence cultivation within a few days after 
planting; deep at first, reducing the depth as the 
plants come up and grow. When vines get too 
much in the way for cultivation, turn them all one 
way, keeping the cultivation up at least once a week 
until they begin to ripen fruit, if the season is dry. 
The cultivation should continue in proportion to 
dryness of season. 

The greatest mistake in cultivating melons is 
running implements too deep after vines commence 
to spread. Remember the roots are near the top 
of the soil, spreading out from the hill about the 
same as the vines. After vines get a foot in length, 
the depth of cultivation should be reduced to not 
over I inch. 

OAT GRASS.— See Tall Oat Grass. 

OATS. — The oat crop ranks second in yield and 
third in acreage in the United States. But we 
usually take this important and sturdy assistant 
as a matter of course; we slightly appreciate its 



OATS 171 

greatness, and give it the least attention and care 
of any of our leading crops. On the average farm, 
where it annually fills its place so completely, so 
fully and so well, it is talked about, discussed and 
considered least of any of the crops on the farm. 
The crop does its work so constantly, so evenly 
and so uncomplainingly of either soil, fertilizer or 
season that we have come to think of it as stead- 
fast and sure. This is, after all, a compliment 
rather than a slight, but it is not a very apprecia- 
tive attitude to assume to so constant a friend. 

Who talks about soil best adapted to oats? What 
fertilizer pays court to it? Who searches for its 
ancestry or shows the advantage of superior 
breeding? What friend enters the list to cham- 
pion it? These things are not said complainingly, 
rather simply to call attention to one of our most 
meritorious and leading crops, that its culture, too, 
may be studied and the best skill given to its im- 
provement. 

While oats may be grown on any type of soil — 
poor clay, sandy loam, peaty land — the crop is at 
its best when favored with a well-drained fertile 
clay or clay loam. The choicest fields, as a rule, 
go to corn or wheat or cotton and the less desirable 
are turned over to oats, the owner knowing in his 
own mind that they will give a good account of 
their occupancy. 

The Seed Bed and Seeding. — Good preparation of 
the soil pays for oats as it pays for other crops. 
The seed bed should be prepared by plowing rather 
than by disking and harrowing. This poor prepara- 
tion often explains the poor stands and light grain 
and straw we often see. Heavy lands in the North 
may be plowed with profit in the fall, and in the 



172 FARM CROPS 

South they may be plowed during the winter sea- 
son. Since the oat crop is hardy and can stand 
considerable cold and moisture, it is our earliest 
field crop to go into the ground in the spring. 
Hence early preparation of the soil aids in seed 
sowing as soon as winter weather has disappeared. 
A week or two gained at seeding time is to be pre- 
ferred to an extension, when warm and drier 
weather comes. 

It pays to give attention to the preparation of 
land. You should compact the soil, using the roller 
if necessary, and rid the land of clods and uneven 
places. The same care as that given to wheat or 
corn will pay with oats. In seeding use from 2 to 
3 bushels to the acre. As commonly practiced, 
oats may be disked or drilled, but the latter has 
proven more satisfactory because of evenness of 
distribution and covering of seed. The seed should 
be covered to a depth of from 2 to 3 inches. Fall 
seeding of oats in the Northern states has not 
proven very satisfactory, the best time being from 
the last of February to the first week in April, the 
nature of the season influencing the time. Spring 
seeding in the South should be a month to six 
weeks earlier than the time suggested for more 
northern latitudes. The best time for seeding oats 
in the Southern states is between the middle of 
October and the first of December. They grow 
more or less during the winter months, get a good 
start when spring opens, and are matured before 
hot weather arrives. 

Manures May Be Used. — Where corn has pre- 
ceded the oat crop and been heavily fertilized with 
stable manure and chemical fertilizers as well, and 
, during the season well cultivated, you have quite 



OATS 173 

an ideal preparation for oats. But some manur- 
ing will pay for the crop. Not stable manure, for 
that you can better employ on the clover or pea 
land for corn. If your soil naturally tends to " down " 
oats, use no nitrogen in the fertilizer, only potas- 
sium and phosphorus. Make your own fertilizer 
by mixing 1,800 pounds of 14 per cent acid phos- 
phate and 200 pounds of muriate of potash, using 
about 100 pounds to the acre. For worn-out land 
a fertilizer consisting of 1,600 pounds of acid phos- 
phate, 200 pounds of cottonseed meal, and 200 
pounds of muriate of potash is a satisfactory com- 
bination for oats. From 150 to 250 pounds may be 
used to the acre. 

Where oats follow cowpeas in the fall, or clover 
in the spring, the nitrogen constituent of the fer- 
tilizer may be eliminated and the first-named fer- 
tilizer used. The cowpea field, its crop of peas 
harvested and made into hay, is ideal for oat pro- 
duction. Plowing is unnecessary, since it is to be 
supposed that the land has been thoroughly broken 
as a preparation for peas, and now the disk only 
is needed to chop the stubble and loosen the top 
soil. The pea roots have gone deep into the soil, 
and have opened and loosened it for air circulation, 
and rendered the soil comfortable — a good thing to 
the less vigorous roots of the oat plant. 

For Hay or Grain. — " I never let my oats ripen. 
I prefer to cut them early and make them into 
hay," said a speaker at an institute last summer. 

"What is your reason for that?" was the ques- 
tion at once asked. He answered : " Because I am 
after hay, and when oats are cut while yet green 
and while still in the dough state, they make a most 
desirable feeding stuff in every way for all kinds 



174 



FARM CROPS 



of farm animals." The speaker was correct in his 
estimate of oat hay. It is a superior feeding stuff. 
When cut sufficiently early, horses, cattle and calves 
relish not only the grain contained in it, but find 
the straw appetizing and nourishing. 

In those sections where hay is always at a pre- 
mium this method of harvesting is doubtless best, 
and even where hay crops flourish well it may still 
be preferable to make hay of the oat crop rather 
than to harvest the crop, thresh the grain and in the 
end to feed both straw and grain to the farm stock. 
Is this not worth thinking about? 

" You wish to sell the grain," I hear some one 
say. Very well ; in that case you will be obliged 
to allow the crop to fully mature before harvesting 
it. You will secure your seed as well. It seems 
reasonable that, all things considered, where hay is 
scarce, it is better to make hay of the entire crop 
than grain and straw and then be obliged to either 
purchase hay or be short in roughage material. 
This is of somewhat more importance where the 
ordinary hay crops flourish only with difficulty, 
being thereby scarce and costly. 

The Feeding Value. — When we compare oat hay 
and timothy we find that the former is superior, as 
seen in the following table : 





DRY 

MATERIAL 


DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN 100 LBS. 


HAY 


Protein 


Carbohydrates 


Fat 


Oat Hay 


91.1 
86.6 


4.3 
2.8 


46.4 
43.4 


1.5 


Timothy 


1.4 



OATS 175 

While oat hay contains more dry matter and 
crude fiber, it is higher in digestible protein, an 
item of considerable importance. These facts sug- 
gest that oats may be grown to much greater ex- 
tent than now as a partial solution to a scarcity of 
hay in Southern sections of the country. 

Variety to Use. — We have in all nearly 150 va- 
rieties of oats, and it is quite impossible to say 
which one is best. The fact is there is no one best 
any more so than there is a best breed of cattle, 
or of sheep, or of swine. The variety best for me 
may not be best for you ; the variety for the South- 
ern farmer is never very desirable for the Northern 
farmer. A neighbor said to me a couple of years 
ago : " I am going to try the new variety of oats 
this year that is so extensively advertised." 

"For your entire crop?" I asked. 

"Yes, certainly; if I use these new oats at all I 
can't bother with some other kind besides." 

I suggested that it might be well to do so. I told 
him that I had been trying each year in a small way 
several kinds of oats, and corn, and wheat, and 
peas, and other crops, and found considerable 
variation in the results. I suggested that it might 
be wise to use the kind he had always used, and 
which I knew was reasonably satisfactory, and try 
the new oats in a small way, an acre, perhaps. If 
the new variety proved at home under his soil and 
climatic conditions, then he could abandon the old 
kind that had been fairly true and faithful to him ; 
he would from his acre trial plot have sufficient 
seed for his entire crop the next year. My neigh- 
bor followed this plan. The new variety was an 
utter failure. He has more faith in the old variety 
now. If he will select his seed with care, as he 



176 FARM CROPS 

does his live stock for breeding purposes, improve- 
ment will result to his satisfaction and profit. 

If you are dissatisfied with the kind you are 
growing because of inferiority, and poor yields, 
you had better start over again, this time using 
one of the old and tried varieties that is at home 
in your section. Some of these are the following: 
For the West and North — Lincoln, American Ban- 
ner, Early Dakota, Welcome, Seizure, Pringle's 
Progress, White Bonanza, Wideawake, Clydesdale 
and Monarch. For the Southern states — Virginia 
Turf, Virginia Gray, Red Rust Proof, Gray Winter 
and Beardless. When you once get a variety 
adapted to your conditions, help it out by selecting 
seed. 

Improving the Variety. — If you set out to improve 
oats, have in mind only desirable features and do 
not make the mistake of extending your work in 
too many directions. A few important character- 
istics well established are more to be desired than 
an attempt with only indifferent results. A few 
features that should be included in every breeding 
operation are these : 

I. Hardiness and freedom from rust. A rust- 
resisting variety would be superior for that feature 
alone, and would command favor in every direction. 
2. Earliness. Oats are partial to cool and moist 
climatic conditions, hence the earlier they mature 
the more satisfactory are the results. 3. Strength 
of straw. A common trouble with oats where land 
is fertile is their tendency to " down." Keep this 
weakness in mind when breeding for improvement. 
4. Heavier yield in grain. There is an open field 
in this direction. 

Treating for Smut.— Smut is so common, so 



OATS 177 

widely scattered and so destructive and yet so 
easily prevented by simple remedies, there should 
be no hesitation in doing this work and in keeping 
it up year after year. Not long ago a prominent 
New York farmer, a friend and myself were walk- 
ing in the country and came to a field of winter 
oats. They looked fine and promised to make a 
fine crop. " Do you know," our New York com- 
panion remarked, " it is wonderful what can be 
done by treating oats for smut." 

" In what way? " I asked. 

" In not only preventing it, but also in greatly 
increasing the yield and weight. I have only re- 
cently treated my oats, but I am sure it adds 10 per 
cent to the commercial value. A neighbor of mine 
didn't believe in doing this. Last year he borrowed 
my drill. In the drill was perhaps a bushel of seed 
left over from my seed oats. My seed had been 
treated and I told my neighbor to use them and 
then later compare with his own if treating seed 
was; worth anything anyway. Well, gentlemen, 
that test completely convinced not only that neigh- 
bor, but several others as well, and now nearly all 
seed oats are treated in our neighborhood." 

At maturing time, examine a few heads in the 
oat field. You are sure to be surprised at the num- 
ber of diseased heads. I have often counted from 
30 to 40 in every hundred aflfected with smut. This 
is a tremendous loss ; and, just think of it, for a few 
cents per acre seed can be treated and the disease 
entirely eradicated. Smut ripens just at the time 
the plant is in the flower. Being loose and light, 
it is easily blown by the wind, thus leaving the 
heads bare of grain and black. 

The most common way of treating seed oats 



178 FARM CROPS 

is to soak for 30 minutes in a solution of formalin 
containing I pound to 50 gallons of water. For- 
malin may be purchased at any drug store, and 
costs about 75 cents a pound. Still another way 
to use formalin is to take one-third as many ounces 
as you have bushels of seed oats to treat; mix an 
ounce in 3 gallons of water, or the whole quantity 
in water at rate of 3 gallons for every ounce of 
formalin. Each gallon of the solution will treat i 
bushel of oats. This is a good way to do this work : 
Spread the seed thinly upon the barn floor and 
sprinkle with the solution, being careful that all 
seeds are wet. Cover closely with blankets for a 
few hours and plant very soon after treatment. In 
drying the seed, spread thinly in the sun and fre- 
quently stir and air. Another method for prevent- 
ing smut is to sprinkle the seed thoroughly with a 
solution of blue vitriol ; to prepare use i pound to 
10 gallons of water. 

Oats and Peas for Forage. — Plow the land as for 
corn. Sow a bushel of Canada field peas to the 
acre and cover 4 inches deep. A few days later 
sow oats at the rate of 2 bushels to the acre. The 
delay in sowing the oats gives the peas a start, and 
brings the two crops along together. A more com- 
mon practice is to mix Canada field peas and oats in 
proportion of i bushel of peas to 2 of oats, and sow 
with wheat drill. Both methods are good. 

ORCHARD GRASS.— A very desirable perennial 
grass for hay. It grows 2 to 4 feet high and yields 
from 2 to 3 tons to the acre when grown alone. It 
has an abundant aftermath and shortly after being 
cut shows growth and greenness. It is quite at 
home in shade, and for this reason is quite suited 
for woods, orchards and pastures where many trees 



ORCHARD GRASS 



179 



abound. A good time to cut is when the grass is 
in bloom. If mowing is postponed the hay is in- 
clined to be woody. Usually two cuttings may be 
obtained in one year and 
sometimes three. The 
grass grows in tufts and 
if grown alone not all the 
ground is covered. For 
this reason other grasses 
should be mixed with it, 
like timothy, clover and 
blue grass. The seed may 
be sown in the fall or 
spring, using 2 to 3 
bushels to the acre. Sow 
broadcast and slightly 
cover with a harrow. Or- 
chard grass starts quickly 
and may be pastured the 
first year. Its greatest 
merit lies in its abun- 
dance of forage, its early 
growth in the spring, and 
its defiance to drouth. 
The tramping by stock 
does it little injury. No 

mixture of permanent pastures or meadows is quite 
complete without some orchard grass seed. 

PEANUTS. — A valuable feeding stufif, good as 
food for man and beast, and good for the soil as an 
improver. For man, it furnishes protein and ash 
materials In considerable quantities, and for farm 
animals it Is an extremely valuable balancing food 
to go with corn and other carbonaceous feeds dur- 
ing the growing season. As a soil improver it ranks 




ORCHARD GRASS 

A splendid mowing crop 
and a good pasture grass. 
It likes rather fertile, moist 
soils, and is not averse to 
shade. The best results are 
obtained when other 

grasses and clovers are 
mixed with it. 



l80 FARM CROPS 

with all leguminous crops. If the grower fertilizes 
his peanut land abundantly with phosphorus, potas- 
sium and lime — for let it be known that peanuts 
relish lime in considerable quantities — his land 
ought to be more fertile and productive after each 
succeeding year. Peanut lands sufifer, as a rule, 
from the depletion of the mineral elements. Of 
course a considerable quantity of these mineral 
elements enters into the growth of the kernel. 

Now, as the peanut uses a considerable quantity 
of mineral materials, it follows that if good growth 
and productive yields are to be obtained, it is neces- 
sary to add such elements in the fertilizers. Pea- 
nut lands also lose considerable fertility and value 
through the constant washing during the winter 
season. This is not necessary, because some grow- 
ing crops can follow peanuts so as to prevent the 
washing and the leaching of the soil. Crimson 
clover is a good winter crop. If difficulty is en- 
countered in securing stands in sandy lands, a crop 
like rye is excellent for the winter season. Since 
a rotation of crops is as important in peanut grow- 
ing as in any other line of special farming, it fol- 
lows that it is not wise to grow peanuts on the 
same land every year. Follow rye, therefore, with 
some crop like cowpeas or some vegetable adding 
crop or even corn. Of these, cowpeas are, of course, 
the best. 

Peanuts, while grown most extensively through 
Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, can be 
grown in most sections of the country. In fact, it 
may be said that peanuts will grow everywhere 
that Indian corn succeeds. A loamy soil of a sandy 
nature and light and porous, produces the most 
remunerative peanuts. However, practically any 



PEANUTS l8l 

kind of soil that is open and friable and that can 
be kept so, provided there is lime and mineral 
elements, will do for the crop. The objection to 
the clay soil lies in the staining of the pods. So 
far as yield and weight are concerned, the clay soils 
have given extremely good results. In fact, the 
peanuts on such soils are heavier than on sandy 
soils. The clay soils being colder and less active, 
do not permit as early planting as the sandy ones. 

It has been mentioned that peanut soils require 
lime, and also phosphorus and potassium. Marl is 
often used and so are oyster shells. However, com- 
mon limestone answers every purpose on the 
peanut farm. As a rule, 30 bushels of lime make 
a good application to the acre. Frequent and small 
applications are superior to infrequent and heavy 
applications of lime. 

Anyone can prepare land for peanuts. Any 
preparation that will get the soil to a good depth 
of plow, and then thoroughly harrowed and pul- 
verized to the depth of 4 or 5 inches, will provide 
good preparation. A common practice is to break 
the land with an ordinary turning plow as soon as 
possible in the spring, and then follow with the 
harrow and the roller until a suitable condition of 
the land is obtained. About 2 bushels of nuts in 
the pod are sufficient to furnish seed for an acre. 
In opening the pod for planting purposes, care and 
attention are necessary in order to avoid the break- 
ing of the skin of the kernel, and also to select the 
more perfect kernels as they are shelled. 

Harvesting Peanuts. — After frost run the point 
of a plow under the vines so as to cut the roots and 
then lift the vines with the adhering pods out of the 
soil and shake free from dirt. Lift out with a fork. 



l82 



FARM CROPS 



When wilted stack the vines loosely around a pole 
about 7 feet high, using some sticks under them, 
to keep them off the ground, and cap with hay or 
straw. If stacked in large stacks or too closely, 
they will heat, so this must be avoided. After 
about four weeks the nuts may be picked from the 
vines and stored where they will be dry and well 
aired. 

PEARL MILLET.~See Millets. 
PERENNIAL RYE GRASS.— A good hay 
crop, but not generally grown. If planted in the 
spring it grows abundantly, being ready to cut in 

six or eight weeks. It is 
very succulent in character, 
but abhors dry weather. It 
is good in pasture and 
meadow mixtures and about 
I bushel of seed to the acre 
should be used. It fancies a 
fertile soil containing much 
lime and one moist and rich 
in vegetable matter. It abhors 
stiff clays. Where timothy 
PERENNIAL RYE GRASS docs well, there is little or 
Dry soils are disastrous no occasion to use this sfrass. 

to It, as are also stiff .-^^.^ -^^-^^ -r-^^--*-^ . 2« 

clays. It is most useful in POLISH WHEAT. — A 

mixtures with red top or » . i , i . 
orchard grass which in- Wheat plant SOmCWhat re- 
creases in value as the rye ui* „ • „ i 

decreases. sembling rye m general ap- 

pearance. It is rather tall, 
the stems are smooth and more or less pithy within. 
It does not stool to any extent. It bears large 
heads that are loosely formed before ripening; 
these are bluish green in color. The grains are hard, 
yellowish to white in color, and are much larger 
than ordinary wheat. This wheat seems to be 




POTATOES 183 

best adapted to the arid districts, but calls for a 
rather fertile soil and a good deal of moisture at 
seeding time. Its use in this country is limited to 
the production of macaroni. It is not used for 
breadmaking. 

POTATOES.— The successful production of a 
large crop of merchantable potatoes is, under exist- 
ing conditions, largely dependent upon: (l) Suit- 
able soil; (2) sufficient plant food; (3) good seed 
of desirable varieties; (4) proper culture; and (5) 
thorough spraying. Neglect on the part of the 
grower to supply any or all of these conditions 
inevitably lessens the resultant crop. 

Soils best adapted to potato culture are those of 
well-drained, sandy or gravelly loam or clay loam 
composition, containing an abundance of humus 
and fairly retentive of moisture. Those that are 
not adapted to potato culture and which should not 
be used where possible to avoid it, are very heavy 
clay or very light, sandy soils. These should be 
avoided because of their poor mechanical texture. 
Other soils that should not be devoted to potato 
culture are those that are low or moist. These 
are not adapted to the crop, because on such soils 
the potato vine is almost sure to blight badly. 
Good air and soil drainage are essential to success, 
at least to the greatest degree of success. 

A clover sod is generally considered especially 
desirable to turn under for a potato crop. This 
should be plowed in the fall unless the exposure 
of the soil is such as to cause undue washing by 
heavy fall and spring rains. Plow as deeply as 
the character of the soil will permit, say 6 to 8 
or more inches. In the spring, preparatory to 
planting, fit the land as thoroughly as possible with 



184 FARM CROPS 

cutaway or spring-tooth and smoothing harrow. 
In lieu of clover sod, any land answering the above 
requirements that is in good tilth will give fairly 
satisfactory results. Thorough preparation should 
be the keynote of any soil. 

Fertilization Necessary. — If the land is thought 
to be lacking in both humus and plant food, these 
deficiencies can be supplied by a good application 
of barnyard manure. This should be spread on the 
land after plowing in the fall and thoroughly in- 
corporated with it in the spring fitting. An appli- 
cation of stable manure in the spring is not desir- 
able, as this practice tends to produce scabby 
tubers. If well-rotted manure is available it may 
be used. Usually on all soils well supplied with 
humus, commercial fertilizers will serve the pur- 
pose much better than barnyard manures, as they 
may be applied in definite proportions to suit the 
needs of the plants. 

Early potatoes require more liberal application 
of quick-acting fertilizers than do late ones. An 
application of 1,000 pounds of a commercial fer- 
tilizer containing nitrogen 5 per cent, phosphoric 
acid 8 per cent and potash 10 per cent, has been 
found to give good satisfaction with early potatoes 
on light soils. Much larger amounts than these 
are frequently used by truck growers near large 
cities. For late potatoes a less active fertilizer 
is needed, as the plants have more time in which 
to develop. In this case an application of 800 to 
1,000 pounds commercial fertilizer containing nitro- 
gen 2 to 3 per cent, phosphoric acid 6 to 8 per cent, 
and potash 8 to 10 per cent is considered sufficient. 
Each grower, however, must determine, in a large 
measure, the requirements of his own soil. Com- 



POTATOES 



185 



bination manuring with commercial fertilizers and 
barnyard manures is frequently practiced to good 
advantage. An application of eight to ten cords 
of manure to the acre in the fall, followed with 500 
to 600 pounds of a quick-acting commercial fertilizer 
when fitting the land or dropped in the furrow at 




THE POTATO UNDERGROUND 

Here are shown the tubers and root system of a potato 
plant. For best results a deeply stirred soil is desirable. The 
intertillage should not be so deep as to interfere with the root 
system below. 



planting time, usually insures a thrifty growth of 
plants. Some prefer broadcasting. 

Good Seed of Desirable Varieties. — As a rule, too 
little attention is paid by the average grower to the 
quality of the seed tubers or to the selection of 
desirable varieties. Seed potatoes kept at a uni- 



1,96 FARM ( Iv'OI'S 

I'm inly I(KV 1i'iii|i(M ;il iiic of \] In 40 (Icjj^rcrs diiiini^ 
iIk' wiiilcr and not allowed lo spronl in early spring 
will i!,i\'v sli'onj^ei" and more vij^orons plants than 
those kepi nnder less lavorahle eonditions, becanse 
they will not he wilted nor will (heir stored enerj^y 
have been dissipated hy ])reinatine sprontinp;". 

Anolhei" j^oveniin^ laehtr in (he vi^'or of the 
plant is thai (^^ the si/e ol seed Inher used, (icn- 
erally speakinj^', the nse of one eye seed ])ioces will 
not j^ive as j^ood results as niedimn-sized tnhers 
halved or plaided whole. There arc some excep- 
lions, however, lo lliis rnle, as in the ease of va- 
rit'ties liavini^ ntnnerons eyes, eaeh of which is 
capable of prodncinj^ several sprouts. With snch va- 
rieties, a one or two-eye ])iece will j^ive better satis- 
faclion Ih.m a whole or half Inbcr. The selection of 
vi^orons. prolific varieties of i;"ood (piality ma- 
terially aids in the prodnclion of a prohtable potato 
crop. A ^'ood conunercial \ari(Mv of potato for 
most markets shotdd lia\c while or Hesh-colored 
skin, be smooth and iei;nlai', 1 onndish-oblonj*" of 
kitlney-sliaped, shallow eyes and mealy when 
cooked. 

Seed Bed and Cultivation. — Under n(^ circum- 
slaiices slionld Ihc pot.ilocs be ])lanled until the 
seed bed has been thoroughly lined and compacted. 
Cn> over it with an ordinary harrow luitil exery clod 
is broken U]) and the cMitire portion turned by the 
plow thoroughly compacted. IMnnt in rows. vSomc 
l)eople check, bnl in most potato ^rowini;' districts 
this is not necessary. If the soil is naturally fer- 
tile and free from weeds, the potat»> cro]) can be 
kepi clean without checking-, and, as a nde, larger 
crops ])ro(luced. ("ult ivat int;- potatoes is of very 
Ljreal importance. Not (miIv nnist weeds be kept 



POTATOES 



187 



out of tlie field, i)iil cultivalion iiiiisl Ix' frc'(|iK'iil, 
so as to conserve moisture. Kee^) it up just as 
long" as possible, l)eing' careful not to disturl) the 
roots, particularly after the ])otaloes begin to set. 
a the potatoes have 1)een planted in long" rows, 
very little hand cullnrc is necessary. It will be 
advisable to go over the field at least once with the 
lioe while the plants are young, so as to clean out 
all weeds that are of any considerable size. By 



2' 6 




POTATO TRAY 

A TiRofiil potato Iray for the storage and sprouting of 
Hf'fMi IxmIh. 'I'Iic (liiin'n.slons given here can be readily followed 
111 making llil.s liay. 



that time, however, there ought to be but few 
weeds in the held. 

Kill Off the Bugs. — If potato bugs attack 
the vines, s])ray with ]:)aris green. If a cheap 
spraying pumj) is not at hand, mix one teaspoonful 
of paris green with three gallons of water and for 
a sprinkler use a bunch of timothy heads. See that 
all the ]jotato tops are coated with green, then the 
bugs will not do much damage. If a heavy rain 
comes soon after applying the spray, repeat. After 
the potatoes have been half raised it pays to go to 



1 88 FARM CROPS 

a good deal of trouble to prevent their being de- 
stroyed by bugs. 

Potato Blight. — Late blight or rust is caused by 
a fungus, a kind of mildew, which is carried through 
the winter in the seed. Where such infected po- 
tatoes are planted the fungus develops in the potato 
shoots and finally causes the blight of the leaves, 
providing weather conditions are at all favorable. 
The germs or spores are produced in enormous 
numbers on these blighting leaves and by these the 
infection is spread to neighboring plants. Many 
of the spores fall to the ground also, and invading 
the tubers, cause the rot. Spraying with bordeaux 
kills the spores, and so prevents both the blight of 
the leaves and the rot of the tubers. 

Selecting Seed Potatoes. — In the selection of seed 
potatoes there is but one safe rule to follow. Pro- 
cure it from that place where it is the most perfect 
and healthy, where the yield under favorable con- 
ditions is the largest, and where the character of 
the soil and the conditions of climate are similar to 
your own. The development of the potato as to 
quality and productiveness is more due to proper 
care in selection for seed purposes than to all other 
causes combined. This care is a simple matter, so 
simple that its importance is rarely understood or 
appreciated. The usual one of selecting the most 
desirable tubers from the bin at the time of plant- 
ing is but the first step in the line of improvement, 
and that step often a mistaken one, as the ones 
chosen may be the only ones to be found in a hill, 
and the ones selected may represent as many hills 
as there are specimens selected. 

The proper method to pursue is to go over the 
field at the time of harvest, select vines that are 



POTATOES 189 

Strong and stocky, not long or straggling. Care- 
fully take up with a fork, and if the potatoes in that 
hill or from one given vine are all of a uniform 
shape and of a desired size, such are the proper 
ones to select for stock, and none others. One of 
the laws of reproduction is that " like produces 
like," and where there is but one well-formed 
potato in a hill or from one vine, the oflfspring will 
too closely resemble the parent. We are familiar 
with this practice, and know the results are of far 
greater importance than we have stated, that the 
annual crop is more than double than where ordi- 
nary methods of taking best-looking specimens from 
the bin are followed and the quality is better. 

Digging and Storing. — Potatoes should never be 
stored immediately after digging, but should be 
allowed to dry. If picked up directly after dig- 
ging, imless taken to market at once for shipment 
or to the starch factory, they should be placed in 
small, long piles not to exceed four or five bushels 
and left for a week or ten days. This will give 
them a good airing and will give the surplus water 
in them a chance to evaporate, or, as some farmers 
please to call it, allow them to sweat. If this 
moisture remains with the potatoes, it will collect 
in drops on the surface of tubers in the middle 
of a large bin full and will pick and foster rot germs 
and destroy many bushels before the owner is 
aware. Never dig potatoes on a damp, foggy day 
or a day when a soft drizzling rain is falling. The 
moisture will soak the ground, make it stick tight 
to the potatoes and not only make the produce 
unsightly but prove hurtful. 

Barrels and Bins for Storage. — Barrels are no 
doubt the most convenient, but as these are not 



190 



FARM CROPS 



always to be had, bins about 4 or 5 feet wide, of 
convenient length, and provided with a floor a few 
inches above the ground, will serve the purpose very 
well. The bins should not be filled to exceed 6 feet 
deep. Have the floor raised rather than on the 
ground, to allow a free circulation of cool air and to 
keep off possible moisture in the ground. 

If kept in the cellar put the seed potatoes in 
barrels and set the barrels on sticks so as to be free 
from the ground to allow cool air to circulate 
around the barrels and to prevent mold from col- 
lecting on the head and thus making it moist. Use 
tight barrels and shut out the air all you can. Keep 
as cool as possible, but, of course, do not allow to 
freeze — the best authorities say 35 degrees is the 
best temperature for seed — and keep the tempera- 
ture as uniform as you can. Here is where the 
cold storage building comes in handy. 

Seed Potatoes Out of Doors. — At digging time 
put the potatoes into the cellar and leave them 
there until cold weather sets in. Then clear a place 
on the north side of a barn or hedge and on a cold 
morning, when cloudy and near freezing, bring out 
the potatoes. Pile them on top of the ground, not 
in trenches, but in long narrow piles, and covered 
with a thick layer of straw, beginning at the base 
and topping out with a layer a forkful thick. This 
is covered with a layer of earth 4 inches thick and 
then left until heavier frosts come, but not hard 
enough to injure the tubers. Another layer of 
straw is now added and another layer of earth 10 
to 12 inches thick and steep enough to shed water 
well. Then sometime in February or March, when 
the earth begins to warm up, the snow is cleaned 
off and a thick covering of straw or mulching 



POTATOES 191 

placed over this, the object being to keep the frost 
in as long as possible. 

Controlling Potato Pests. — Late leaf blight is by- 
far the most destructive, persistent and trouble- 
some disease that affects potatoes. It is caused by 
a fungus which, under favorable conditions, ap- 
pears as a delicate white mildew, hence the name 
sometimes applied, downy mildew. In some sea- 
sons it works so rapidly as to completely destroy 
the foliage of an entire crop within a few days of 
its first appearance. It attacks the leaves and stems 
and frequently extends to the tubers, the rotting of 
whici dIIows quickly upon the decay of the tops. 
The decay in the tubers is not always proportionate 
to the decay in the vines, but the relation between 
these is usually close, hence the wisdom of promptly 
applying remedial and even preventive measures. 
The treatment is the same in kind as for early blight, 
that is, spraying with bordeaux. As the beetles 
come at the same time as blight, a properly prepared 
spray will answer for both. 

Little good will result from spraying after mjury 
from the disease has become in any considerable 
degree apparent. Spraying should begin, there- 
fore, even before the blight has appeared and 
usually as soon as the plants are 6 to 10 inches 
high. The number of sprayings will run all the 
way from one to six or seven, according to the 
conditions, especially those that relate to weather. 
Ordinarily from three to four careful sprayings will 
suffice, but not in all instances. When but three 
are given, the first should be deferred until there 
is danger of harm from the flea or the Colorado 
beetle. Ordinarily from 10 to 15 days are allowed 
to elapse between the sprayings, but, in some in- 



192 



FARM CROPS 



Stances, a longer period is allowed. During what 
may be termed an epidemic of blight, it may be 
necessary to spray every seven days. Light appli- 
cations and frequent are more effective than heavy 
applications and less frequent. 

To prepare bordeaux, slake 4 pounds of good, 
fresh quicklime in 10 gallons of water. Dissolve 5 
pounds of copper sulphate, that is, blue vitriol, 
sometimes called bluestone, also, in 10 gallons of 
water, preferably hot, to hasten the dissolving 
process. If the copper sulphate is suspended near 
the top of the water in a sack, the results will be 
more satisfactory. When the mixture is wanted, 
pour the two solutions thus obtained slowly into a 
barrel containing 30 gallons of water, vigorously 
stirring during the pouring process. The mixture 
will soon lose strength, hence the necessity for using 
it fresh. If flea or potato beetles are giving trouble, 
about I ounce of paris green of good quality should 
be added to each 10 gallons of the mixture. 

On small areas compressed air sprayers which 
hold not more than 5 gallons of the mixture may 
be used. For larger areas knapsack sprayers will 
answer. For still larger areas a barrel spray pump 
mounted on a light wagon or two-wheeled cart, 
drawn by one horse, may be necessary. When in 
use, one man rides, drives and pumps, and two men 
walk and spray. The pump has two leads of hose, 
each about 15 feet long, and provided with double 
nozzles. Several rows are thus sprayed at one time. 
For still larger fields, geared pumps operated by 
horse power have been found entirely practical. 
Two or three hours should elapse after spraying 
before rain falls. It is a matter of prime importance 
that the vines shall be well covered with the 



POULARD WHEAT 1 93 

solution before the blight fostering weather 
arrives. 

POULARD WHEAT.— A macaroni and paste- 
making wheat grown in this country in an experi- 
mental way only. In the regions surrounding the 
Black and Mediterranean seas the greater part of 
this kind of wheat is grown. Sometimes it is called 
English wheat, but it is never grown in that coun- 
try. It is closely allied to the durum group. It 
is satisfied with light rainfall and has great ability 
to withstand drouth and heat. It calls for a fairly 
rich soil. 

PUMPKINS — In the old days, pumpkins were a 
popular stock food. Since farm machines for plant- 
ing, cultivating and harvesting have come into use, 
pumpkin growing in the cornfields has fallen into 
disfavor and disuse. If pumpkins are grown at all 
now, they are usually grown in a patch off to them- 
selves. This custom has not become universal by 
any means, as in many sections field pumpkins in 
the cornfield are frequently seen, especially of those 
who have profited through large quantities of 
pumpkins as a fall feed for cattle and hogs. Seed 
is still mixed with the seed corn and dropped in 
the planter. 

The objection to this method lies in the trouble 
in cultivating the field later. Pumpkin growers 
have in many instances resorted to the old jobber 
planter for putting in the pumpkin seeds when the 
corn has become anywhere from 4 inches to 2 feet 
in height. If the corn harvesters are used, it 
naturally follows that great quantities of pumpkins 
will be destroyed. When grown alone, a sandy 
loam is best. This same kind of preparation is 
necessary as for corn. When planted alone it is 



194 



FARM CROPS 



advisable to plant the pumpkins something like 8 
by 8 feet. From 3 to 4 pounds of seed will be 
necessary to the acre. Of course, drilled planting 
can be resorted to. If hill planting is adopted, 
three or four plants should be left to the hill. Con- 
stant cultivation pays in pumpkin growing as it 
pays in corn and other kinds of crops. Freezing is 
hurtful to pumpkins and, therefore, they should 
be gathered and stored before cold weather arrives. 
If the stems be brushed off or the pumpkins bruised 
they will quickly decay. A dry, moderately warm 
pit or cellar is desirable for storage. A barn or 
stable can be used, but if the weather is cold it is 
best to cover with corn stalks or hay in order to 
protect from cold weather as long as possible. Any- 
where from 20 to 40 tons of pumpkins may be 
secured to the acre. There is a place on the farm 
for pumpkins, as they are relished by both swine 
and cattle in the fall. They may be fed raw or 
cooked and are good for hogs up to the final stages 
of fattening. 

RAPE. — English farmers have for generations 
made extensive use of Dwarf Essex forage rape as a 
stock food. This plant may be described as a ruta- 
baga run to head. The seed is sown broadcast, 
from April to July, or sown in drills, like rutabaga 
turnips, and cultivated without thinning. The 
large, numerous, succulent leaves are generally ap- 
preciated by sheep most of all, then by swine and 
cattle. Rape is fed off by turning stock directly 
into the field, so there is no expense for harvesting. 
As indicated above, it may be sown any time from 
early spring until midsummer, and furnishes food 
from about eight weeks after sowing until < it is 
consumed. 



RAPE 



195 



Rape seeds may be sown at different seasons. 
The time of seeding will largely depend on the time 
of year the crop is wanted for feeding. It may be 
sown in early spring or as late as July, and good 
results will be obtained providing the season is 




RAPE PLANT 

This plant stores the nutriment in its leaves and is most 
excellent for grazing- purposes, especially for hogs and sheep. 
It may be planted in the spring or the fall. When at its best 
it is almost a complete food. 



196 FARM CROPS 

moist enough to germinate the seed. When sown 
in early spring, it will usually be ready for pastur- 
ing in about eight weeks. Some have got very 
large yields by cutting the crop rather than pas- 
turing it. If you cut it, do not cut too close to the 
ground, for if this is done the plants oftentimes fail 
to produce a second crop. If cut 4 or 5 inches 
above the ground as many as three crops a season 
can be had from one seeding. When seeded in early 
spring it may either be sown in drills or broad- 
cast. Usually the best results are obtained when 
drilled in rows from 2 to 2^ feet apart, just wide 
enough to allow a cultivator to pass between the 
rows. If cultivated two or three times the weeds 
are kept down and the rape will make a much more 
rapid growth. If drilled, about 2 pounds of seed 
an acre should be used, but if broadcasted use 
double that amount. Never sow anything but the 
Dwarf Essex variety, as it is the best. Sometimes 
farmers have been deceived in buying rape seed, 
and got a kind that did not make much growth and 
blossomed early. 

Rape will grow and do very well on a variety of 
soils, but the largest yields and most satisfactory 
results are obtained when it is produced on a rich 
soil containing a liberal amount of vegetable mat- 
ter. When sown alone and in spring more rape 
will be grown than is possible by any other method, 
as oftentimes three crops a season can be obtained 
by sueh a practice. Many farmers have succeeded 
in getting two crops ofif the same ground by sow- 
ing rape seed with oats or in the cornfield at time 
of last cultivation. Such a practice is frequently 
followed by good results, but if the season be very 
dry, the rape may not make much growth. It is 



RAPE 197 

well worth any man's time to experiment a little 
along these lines, for in most instances he will be 
well paid for his trouble. 

When Sown with Oats the most common prac- 
tice is to mix the rape seed in the seed box with 
oats and drill both at the same time. About i^ 
pounds of seed to the acre should be used. On 
very rich soil it might not be advisable to use more 
than I pound of seed to the acre. The rape plant 
will make a fair growth until the oat crop is har- 
vested, when it will grow very rapidly and furnish 
an abundance of good pasture for sheep, hogs or 
young cattle. When grown in the cornfield seed 
should be sown just before the last cultivation. 
Sow about 2^ pounds of seed to an acre. This 
method is occasionally more satisfactory than to 
sow with oats, but either method may prove very 
profitable. 

Rape is not like clover, cowpeas, or soja beans 
in being able to obtain its nitrogen from the air, 
and consequently is not so valuable as a fertilizer. 
The roots of the rape plant go down into the sub- 
soil and in this way they bring fertility to the sur- 
face soil. Some grow rape for this purpose alone, 
but most people grow it for its value as a forage 
crop. This plant is an excellent food for sheep, 
swine, beef cattle, and when carefully fed to dairy 
cows good results can be obtained. Those who 
have never tried rape should sow a little and be 
convinced that it is one of the most useful forage 
plants the farmers can grow. 

RED CLOVER.— -One of our best forage plants 
and used for pasture, hay and soil renovation. It 
grows in all parts of the country. Clay loam soils 
overlying a mild clay are best for this crop. How- 



198 



FARM CROPS 



ever, any soil not too loose Is satisfactory. Clover 
will grow on land that is not rich, but on poor 
soils liberal applications of potassium and phos- 
phorus should be given. The crop is sown usually 
with a nurse crop and is most popular in rotations 
with corn, wheat and oats. It precedes the corn 
and is seeded in the spring either in oat land or 
the wheat land. In localities abundantly supplied 

with moisture and fa- 
vored with mild win- 
ters it is practical to 
sow clover in the late 
s u m m e r and early 
autumn months. 

The seed may be 
sown broadcast by 
hand or by means of a 
hand seeder or with an 
attachment to the 
grain drill. Sometimes 
it is fixed with the 
grain seed and sowed 
along with it, but this 
kind of sowing is not 
COMMON RED CLOVER to be commcndcd. 

The most important member of T^U^^^ .V fnn crrppf ir 
the clovers grown in most sec- -l^icic is luu gicdu 11 

ll^"" w°^ }^^^ country. Alfalfa in regularity in the seed- 

the West and the cowpea in the . ^ -^ 

South somewhat displace it. No inSf". A better Stand IS 
farm is complete without some ^ ,, . 1 -r 1 

legume. Every rotation should USUally obtained if the 
contain one or more of the 1 • i- 1 ,1 

clovers. Seed IS slightly cov- 

ered. This usually oc- 
curs when the seed drops in the drill rows, since 
the first rain brings the soil sufficiently over the 
seed, securing the necessary protection for it. When 
seeded in spring wheat, the best time is after a 




RED CLOVER I99 

frost when the soil is in a honeycomb condition. 
The seed drops in the cracks and the heaving- and 
thawing cover sufficiently to insure germination 
and foothold for the roots. From 5 to 10 pounds 
of seed are usually sown to the acre ; the latter 
quantity being preferable. 

It is not best to pasture off the clover the same 
year it is sown. The exception to this is when 
wheat stubble is pastured by hogs. Of course, the 
clover has, as a rule, reached a good height by the 
time the wheat fields are available for pastures, and 
hogs do not give an extremely close cropping at 
this time, so this method is not to be condemned. 
Indeed farmers who grow wheat, hogs and clover 
resort to the plan and so universally is it practiced 
it is only during exceptional seasons and under ex- 
ceptional circumstances that injury is done to the 
crop. In any case the crop should not be close 
cropped in the fall. If clover goes into winter un- 
protected, it is more liable to be injured. 

Clover may be included in any and all grass 
seeding. It does not remain in permanent pas- 
tures, because it is a short-lived plant. Its quick- 
growing habit during the first year blends well 
with the slower growing habit of timothy and other 
grasses. By the second year the clover disappears 
and then timothy, red top or other grasses included 
in the mixture are ready to start at their best. As 
the clover dies the nitrogen stored in its roots be- 
comes available for the other grass plants and the 
decaying roots themselves leave a wealth of humus 
and plant food in the soil that will be seen during 
subsequent years, even long after the pasture has 
been succeeded by another crop. 

Growing Clover for Seed. — A much larger yield 



200 FARM CROPS 

of clover seed may be obtained, and seed of better 
quality, if the first crop of red clover is cut early, 
as it will do for hay. This would be when one- 
third is in full bloom. The mistake is often made 
of commencing at that stage of growth and con- 
tinuing over some weeks, so that most of the 
cutting is much too late. The second growth will 
come strong from the large root system and will 
bloom when bumblebees are most plentiful. When 
ready to cut for either hay or seed, the mower will 
clip off the heads with a foot or two of straw. This 
makes good hay, leaving the coarse stalk on the 
ground. Or it is easily threshed, since there is no 
more straw than the common red clover has. 

Before cutting the seed one should examine the 
heads to see if they are well filled. Hold 
a head between thumb and finger and shave 
off one side till seeds are exposed. It is 
easy to count the empty cups. In pinching 
heads, one will find those well filled are hard and 
firm, empty heads chaffy. It is well to examine, 
since there is great variation. 

In cutting the red clover for seed use a buncher. 
But the large clover with its long, bent-down stub- 
ble will not pull the clover off the buncher. In this 
case cut it dewy mornings and rake it into windrows 
wdiile slightly damp. If heavy rains fall on the 
cut clover it may need turning. This do with a 
four or six-pronged fork without parting it more 
than necessary. Turn a bunch much as you would 
a pancake. If the rain is not heavy it will usually 
dry out without turning. 

Thresh in the field, hauling to machine on tight- 
bottomed hay ladders. The nicest way is to have 
these on sleds instead of wagons. Do not tramp 



RED CLOVER 20l 

it on the load, but leave it fluffy and open. Great 
care should be taken that the straw is dry. Just a 
little toughness will waste seed surprisingly. It 
should hull out by rubbing in the hand and the 
chaff crush dry. If a little tough, one may waste 
much seed. The best time is when a slight wind is 
in the south and a bright sun is shining. 

Second Growth Clover. — Fall treatment of a 
clover field is very often neglected. The second 
crop may be cut for hay, grown for seed or pas- 
tured. There is no reason why a profitable second 
crop cannot be secured, but the use to be made of 
this is a question with many growers and a matter 
of more or less dispute. 

If intended for seed, the first crop should be cut 
early when it is just beginning to bloom. When 
this is done the second crop will have more vigor 
and produce more seed. It is always best to cut 
before full bloom has been reached, because then 
it contains the largest per cent of protein, has less 
crude fiber and is more valuable for feed. The 
Maine experiment station reports that when heads 
are first forming, clover has 23 per cent of protein ; 
heads formed, 18 per cent; full bloom, 14 per cent; 
some heads dead, 13 per cent, and all heads dead, 
12 per cent. So when cut early the second growth 
is not only better, but the feeding value is greater. 

For seed, the second crop should grow until the 
first heads are ripe and begin to shell. If the later 
heads contain the most and largest seed, they should 
be ripened in preference. It should be cured in 
small cocks and these turned over when dry on top. 
The seed may be threshed out with a flail and 
fanned, or the heads themselves sown for home 
use. As insects are very troublesome, it is seldom 



202 FARM CROPS 

profitable to try to mature the seeu. If seed is to 
be grown, however, the mammoth variety should 
be selected, as this is a later and hardier variety 
than the medium red. Only one crop of the mam- 
moth can be grown in a season, and if seed is 
sought, it should be pastured or mowed early in 
the season to delay its maturity until later in the 
summer, when it will have a larger yield. 

If it can be avoided, it is not advisable to pasture 
the clover field, although it makes excellent feed. 
The tramping of the stock has a tendency to make 
the soil more compact and heavy. When it is pas- 
tured, the roots do not penetrate the soil so deeply, 
and consequently is not quite beneficial as a soil 
improver. Everything being considered, it is about 
as well to let the second crop go back to the soil 
if it is not harvested for hay, when it can go back 
in the form of barnyard manure. 

In the fall, before the weeds have gone to seed, 
it should be cut with a mowing machine, not very 
close to the ground, however. This serves as a 
mulch to protect the soil through the winter, and at 
the same time adds rich humus. The growth the 
following year will be greater and probably enough 
to offset the loss from its going back to the soil. 

RED TOP. — An upright perennial frequently 
mixed with timothy and other grasses for hay. In 
New England, New York and Pennsylvania red top 
is an old standby. In the South and West it is not 
so well known. In some instances red top is used 
as the only grass in the crop. Some markets 
consider red top a weed and the hay suffers 
accordingly so far as price goes. Red top is 
more nutritious than timothy, and any prejudice 
against it is unwarranted. The crop does splen- 



RED TOP 



203 



didly in low, moist and swampy lands, and is 
good for either meadows or pastures. It may be 
flooded even for some time without suffering to any 
extent. It seems to do fairly well on acid soils; 
indeed, some say it does its best on sour lands. It 
is no better adapted for short rotations than timothy, 
as it requires at least two 
years to get a firm foothold. 
Its creepy nature in growing 
makes it good for bottom 
lands. The quantity of seed 
will depend upon how clean 
the seed is in the first place. 
A pound or two of thor- 
oughly cleaned seed is all 
that is required. With un- 
cleaned seed, or as ordinarily 
used, from 15 to 20 pounds 
will be necessary to the acre. 
It goes very well with 
timothy, orchard grass and 
any of the clovers. Its 




RED TOP 



A perennial grass. It 
grows 2 to 3 feet high, 
. , (. , , ., . with interlacing roots 

special lavor to alsike is ex- that form a dense sod. It 

plained by the fact that US^Vs'^^^'^frSss"' S 
alsike will grow in slightly ISpuiaJYhan 'timSthT" 
acid soils where common 

clover will not. Seeding can be done either in the 
fall or spring. A small amount of red top with 
the usual grass mixture will not be amiss for most 
meadow and pasture lands. 

RESCUE GRASS.— This grass, sometimes 
known as Australian Brome, grows from i to 2 
feet high and resembles chess or cheat in appear- 
ance. It is an annual and reseeds itself. In the 
South it is used as a winter grazing grass. The 



204 FARM CROPS 

:ustom is to let it reseed itself each spring. If this 
is not done it soon runs out. When cut for hay, 
from I to 2 tons an acre are produced. 

RICE. — A grass plant grown principally for 
human food. The crop is most largely grown in 
Louisiana and Texas, but the Carolinas and Georgia 
have at different times grown considerable quanti- 
ties of this crop. The three main varieties culti- 
vated in this country are the Japan, the Honduras 
and the Carolina. The Japan varieties have short 
oval berries, but the plants differ in habits of 
growth, days of maturity, and other physical fea- 
tures. The Honduras rice is large in size, has a 
rich kernel and yields heavily. The same may be 
said of the Carolina varieties. The Japan varieties 
lead in milling qualities. Red rice differs from the 
varieties just named. The grains are red or 
streaked with red. It is a very hardy variety and 
noted for its vigor. On account of the demand for 
white rice, this kind is not in favor in this country, 
although in other countries it is much used. Wild 
rice is a wild plant here and is not cultivated. It 
is found in places where shallow water abounds. 
Its use as a feed is very limited. It grows in the 
low alluvial lands along the rivers in Louisiana and 
Texas and in the bordering reclaimed swamps and 
tight water lands, including all the territory most 
given to rice. 

The soil for rice must be rich — a thick loam is 
preferred. Previous to planting time, the most 
thorough kind of preparation is necessary. The 
soil must be firm and compact and possessed of 
much water. The clay types are very good, if not 
the best. Good drainage is desirable because this 
permits of early planting and a good soil prepara- 



RICE 205 

tion. The planting season runs from the middle of 
March to the middle of June. From 2 to 3 bushels 
are usually seeded to the acre. The rice seeder is 
often used, but most generally the seed is scat- 
tered broadcast. It is then harrowed so as to give 
it a reasonable amount of covering. 

After planting, water is turned on the land so 
as to give it a thorough soaking and then with- 
drawn until germination has resulted. During 
rainy seasons and in moist lands, an application 
of water is not necessary. When the rice attains 
a height of 6 or 8 inches, the water is turned on. 
As the rice plants grow, the depth of water is in- 
creased. This keeps the weeds down and is just 
what the rice plant likes. The water is withdrawn 
sometimes previous to harvesting, to allow the soil 
to become thoroughly dry that the harvesting ma- 
chines may be drawn easily over the land. When 
the straw begins to turn yellow, it is ready for 
cutting. If machinery cannot be used, the sickle 
is used. After being cut the rice is bound into 
sheaves and laid on the stubbles to dry. It is later 
shocked as in the case of wheat. The next opera- 
tion is threshing, which is usually by machine just 
as with other cereals. The yield varies from 20 to 
40 bushels to the acre. 

On the whole, appliances are becoming more and 
more available so that farm hulling now has be- 
come a sort of established rule. The rice mills are 
complicated afifairs. Not only must the grain be 
taken from the straw, but the light grains must be 
separated from the heavy; the weeds must be re- 
moved, the hulls separated, and the grain must be 
polished and graded and placed in sacks ready for 
shipment to market. Rice is usually graded as 



RICE 207 

whole rice or heads ; scant heads or straits ; broken 
rice or screenings ; and brewer's rice. This last is 
used in manufacturing beer. 

The most serious obstacle to rice growing are 
weeds. Wild rice and red rice are both weeds in 
the regular rice field. If these get into the cul- 
tivated varieties they reduce the value of the crop. 
To avoid this trouble, it is necessary that only 
clean seed, positively free from red rice, be used. 
The rice grain after leaving the mill is graded, the 
better grains being used for human consumption. 
A by-product from the preparation of rice is known 
as rice meal and has considerable value as a stock 
feed. The rice hulls have little feeding value. In 
the past, they have been very greatly used as an 
adulterant in many kinds of cattle feeds. Adding 
rice hulls to these feeds now is a fraud and in most 
states is not permitted. Rice straw is used sim- 
ilarly with wheat straw. 

RUTABAGAS.— As a winter food for live stock 
rutabagas have a wide range of adaptation. Like 
rape, this plant is found at its best where the 
weather is moist and cool. The crop should al- 
ways be made a cleaning crop, save when the seed 
is sown broadcast. It may, therefore, with much 
propriety come after a succession of grain crops 
when the land has become weedy through thus 
growing these crops upon it, as it assuredly will be- 
come in time. Turnips will grow nicely in overturned 
sod lands when the sod is not too fresh and dense, 
but such lands are usually wanted for cereals be- 
cause of their clean condition. A grain crop should 
follow the rutabaga crop, and because of the clean 
condition of the land, it w^ould be well to sow grass 
seeds or clover seeds, or both, with the grain. 



208 FARM CROPS 

Rutabagas are partial to a deep, moist loam soil, 
with enough of sand in it to keep it friable. The 
seed may be sown with a hand drill such as is used 
in a garden when only a small quantity is to be 
sown, but when a large area is to be sown, a drill 
made for the purpose of sowing field seeds is com- 
monly used. It is drawn with one horse, sows 
two rows of seed at a time, and a roller 
attached firms the earth over the seed. But 
when the weather is dry and the soil is not liable 
to blow, it will be advantageous to use the heavy 
field roller after the seed has been sown. From 2 
to 4 pounds of seed are sown to the acre, accord- 
ing to the more or less favorable conditions of the 
soil and weather. 

When sown in drills, the horse cultivation should 
begin as soon as the young plants can be distinctly 
traced in the line of the row. The cultivation ought 
to be deeper at first than later, and close to the 
rows, but not so close as to disturb the young 
plants. If, at the same time, the undisturbed por- 
tion of the soil is disturbed with the hoe, but with- 
out cutting out any of the plants, the weeds can 
never again become so troublesome along the line 
of the row. The cultivation given should be fre- 
quent and it ought to be continued as long as it 
can be done without breaking oflf any considerable 
proportion of the leaves of the rutabagas. 

When the plants have produced four or five, 
leaves, or when they are 3 or 4 inches high, the 
thinning should be done and with much dispatch. 
The workman stands facing the row, and with a 
forward and backward movement of the hoe strikes 
out the plants that are to be removed. The dis- 
tance between the plants may be varied from 6 to 



RYE 209 

12 inches, but it is not common to thin the plants 
to a greater distance than, say, 9 to 10 inches ; and 
they should be gone over a second time with the 
hand hoe, to perfect the thinning and also the de- 
struction of the weeds. When rutabagas are broad- 
casted they are not given any cultivation. 

RYE. — Rye will grow much better on rich land 
than on land that is poor. Nevertheless, it is grown 
chiefly on land that is sandy in texture and that is 
low in fertility. It is so grown because other 
cereals cannot be grown with equal success on such 
soils ; but there are wide areas in many states well 
adapted to its growth and on these it is not grown. 
The habit of growth in rye enables it to gather food 
in soils where other cereals would fail. 

The ground is prepared for rye as for other crops, 
that is, by plowing it to a reasonable depth. It is 
not necessary to plow so deeply as for some other 
crops, especially on sandy soils. Of course, the 
longer the ground is plowed before the land is 
sown, and the more frequently the soil is 
stirred the better will be the conditions for 
the rye, as the ground will then be cleaner and 
moister than it would otherwise be. In certain 
areas, however, especiall}^ of the prairie, rye is put 
in with the grain drill without plowing the land 
at all. The seed is drilled in among the stubbles 
and on such soils good crops are frequently grown. 
This method of sowing is best adapted to cold 
areas. The benefit comes largely from the protec- 
tion which the stubbles afiford to the young rye 
plants when driving winds are sweeping over the 
country in winter. 

Rye is put into the soil like other cereals, being 
sown sometimes by hand, but more frequently and 



2IO FARM CROPS 

more properly with the drill. It may be put in under 
dry conditions more deeply than wheat, as the 
young sprouts of rye can better endure conditions 
of privation than wheat. The amount of seed sown 
is usually from 6 to 8 pecks ; more on poor than 
on rich soil. It should be sown even more thickly 
than other grain, as it has less power to stool. 

Varieties. — There ire two varieties of rye. One 
of these is known as winter and the other as spring 
rye. The winter variety chiefly is grown. The 
spring variety does not usually yield so well as the 
other. The best time for sowing winter rye can 
only be stated in a general way, as the time will 
vary with the locality. It ought to be sown so 
early that it will make enough of top to protect 
itself in winter and yet not early enough to be 
injured with the leaf rust that sometimes over- 
takes early sown rye. In the Northern states, the 
best time to sow winter rye is usually from the 
first to the middle of September. Going south- 
ward, the time of sowing will be later. 

Spring rye cannot be sown too early providing 
the land is in proper condition to receive the seed. 
If winter rye is sown so late that the plants do not 
have time to make a reasonable growth before 
winter, in cold climates, the crop may be greatly 
injured, but where the snowfall is reasonably sure, 
late sowing will be more safe. 

The rye crop is harvested like any other cereal. 
At the present time it is usually cut with the grain 
harvester. Owing to the stiff character of the 
straw it has the great advantage over other cereals 
that it seldom falls down. It is also ripe one or two 
weeks ahead of winter wheat, and, therefore, the 
harvesting does not interfere with the harvesting 



RYE 21.1 

of other cereals. Moreover, when grass or clover 
seeds are sown along with the rye, its early re- 
moval lets in the sunlight and is so far favorable 
to their growth. If the rye cannot be harvested at 
once when ripe, the loss from shelling is much less 
than with other cereals. The yields are usually 
moderate, as the crop is commonly sown on the 
poorest soil of the farm. They run, in many in- 
stances, about 15 to 18 bushels, though under favor- 
able condition, more than 30 bushels per acre ma}^ 
be grown. 

Rye weighs 56 pounds per bushel, and, therefore, 
is nearly as heavy as wheat. It is a valuable food 
for horses, milch cows, cattle that are being fat- 
tened, swine and sheep, when it is properly fed, but 
there is prejudice in the minds of many against 
feeding it, because of some evils that have resulted 
therefrom. It is true that ergot is found in rye 
occasionally, and when it is thus present in any 
considerable quantity it is also true that when fed 
heavily it will produce abortion in pregnant animals. 
The proper way to feed it when possible is to feed 
a small quantity and in combination with other 
feeding stuffs. 

Winter Rye for Pasture. — None of the small 
cereals will compare with rye in providing pasture. 
Its strong points here include the following: It 
may be sown almost at any season of the year; 
good pasture may be obtained from the one sow- 
ing; a stand of grass may be obtained while it is 
being grazed, and it may usually be followed by 
another crop the same season. 

If rye is to furnish good pasture in the autumn 



212 FARM CROPS 

it must be sown early; in the Northern states as 
early as August. It must then be grazed some- 
what closely, for if allowed to grow too rank the 
head may form, which would destroy its power to 
grow in the spring. But a more important reason 
for grazing it closely is found in the tendency in 
the grazing to rust when it becomes of rank growth. 
While the weather is still warm cropping it down 
prevents it from rusting. It may thus be made to 
produce a large amount of grazing in the autumn, 
but when it does, the grazing furnished in the 
spring is less than that obtained from rye under 
similar conditions of growth, but sown later and 
not pastured. In the spring grazing is furnished 
earlier by rye than by any other plants used as 
pasture. The duration of the grazing depends 
somewhat upon the closeness of the cropping, but 
usually it does not continue good more than five 
to six weeks. By that time, however, other graz- 
ing is abundant as a rule. 

Securing a Stand of Grass. — If rye is sown in the 
autumn and timothy or red top, or both, are sown 
along with it, these plants will root in the autumn 
and will not only be ready to furnish grazing along 
with the rye in the spring, but they will continue 
to grow and furnish grazing indefinitely. Another 
way is to defer sowing the seeds to the early spring, 
and then to sow such clovers and grasses as flourish 
in the locality and cover them with the harrow. 
Under proper conditions the harrowing will help 
the rye. There may be soils on which the early 
grazing of the rye would injure the growth of the 
grasses. On other soils, however, such grazing will 
be helpful to them, rather than harmful. Where 
this method succeeds it enables the farmer to get 



RYE 213 

pasture quickly when this may be necessary. 
When rye is sown in the autumn for pasture, it 
is usually sown after some other crop has been 
grown for the season on the same land. Thus, it 
may come after any of the other cereals. When 
grazed down in the spring there is still time to 
follow it with other crops. These include field 
roots, rape, millet and cowpeas. Excellent crops 
of these are frequently grown after rye pastures. 
All kinds of quadrupeds kept on the farm may 
be grazed on rye. Its highest use probably is found 
in grazing ewes in the early spring that are nurs- 
ing their lambs, or in grazing weaned lambs in the 
autumn in the absence of better grazing. Under 
some conditions it is a great aid in furnishing pas- 
ture to swine. However, it must be pastured with 
caution by dairy cows, or an unpleasant odor may 
be given to the milk. Early succulent rye is excel- 
lent for the production of milk. Such grazing is not 
much used in growing beef as it is usually too 
limited in supply. 

RYE GRASS.— See Italian Rye Grass. 

SANFOIN. — A vigorous growing plant, both 
branched and spreading. Its flowers are numer- 
ous and of a showy red color. It will frequently 
produce two or more cuttings of hay and several 
cuttings of soiling feed in a single season. It is 
seldom advisable to seek two crops of seed in one 
season, since the first crop does not yield nearly so 
well as the second. It is better practice to cut the 
first crop for hay, to use it as soiling food, or to pas- 
ture it, just as is done in growing common red clover 
seed. This plant will retain its hold upon the soil for 
several years. But other grasses are much prone 



214 FARM CROPS 

to crowd it out as it becomes older. In some in- 
stances it is only grown for one or two seasons, but 
usually the seed is too costly to admit of any ex- 
tended use. 

In the rough form from 4 to 5 bushels of seed to 
the acre must be used. When harvesting the seed 
great care must be exercised in handling the crop, 
or much of the seed will be lost. It should not be 
handled in the heat of the day; and when being 
made into hay the same care is necessary, or many 
of the leaves will be lost. Much care must also be 
given the seed, or it will heat and spoil. Inatten- 
tion in this matter is largely responsible for the 
many failures to secure a good stand of plants. 
But it also seems to be true that the seed loses its 
germinating power more quickly than the seed of 
any other legume. Sanfoin, like clover, is very 
beneficial to the soils in which it is grown. 

SCARLET CLOVER.— See Crimson Clover. 

SHEEP'S FESCUE.— A perennial bunch grass 
much relished as herbage by sheep. It grows on 
thin soils and never becomes very tall. About 10 
inches is its usual height, though when specially 
favored it may grow twice as tall. It is particu- 
larly suited for culture on the lighter, drier soils 
of a sandy nature where other grasses will not 
thrive. From 2 to 3 bushels of seed are required 
to the acre. Its light nature and slight growth put 
it out of the hay classes. Its chief value is as pas- 
ture in the drier regions where the soils are poor 
and the moisture too little to make an abundant 
growth. 

SORGHUM. — A plant ♦ somewhat resembling 
Indian corn in habit of growth and appearance. It 



SORGHUM 



215 



is used in the production of molasses and sugar 
and as a forage plant. Some varieties of sorghum 
contain more sugar properties than others. They 
fall into two classes — the saccharine and the non- 
saccharine varieties. This plant will grow any- 
where that Indian corn will grow and will do very 
well on poor soils and in the drouth regions. While 
it is used to some extent in making syrup, difficulty 
has up to the present been experienced in getting 
profitable amounts of crystallized sugar from it. 
When grown for its molasses properties, good soils 
are practically indispensable. Either hills or drills 
may be used. The 
rows should be 3^ 
to 4 feet apart, and if 
planted in hills, a 
similar distance in the 
row. The custom is 
to plant from i to 2 
dozen seeds in each 
hill and to cover these 
about 2 inches deep. 

If the soil is light 
and dry a little 
greater depth is given. 
As the plants come up 

they are thinned to ^, . , , . , „ 

. -^ 11 • This bunch grass is especially 

SIX or eight stalks m suited for the lighter, drier soils 

, , .,, TT 1 ^^'^ those of a sandy nature where 

the hill. Jrieavy seed- other grasses will not thrive. It 

,•1 is greatly relished by sheep, and 

mg IS practiced so as to a less extent by other stock. 

to overcome the tend- 
ency to loss from rotting or poor germination that 
the seed seems to possess. The ground should be 
pretty warm before seeding, and it is best not 
to plant until after the regular corn-planting 




SHEEP S FESCUE 



2l6 FARM CROPS 

timel(^ over. It is absolutely necessary to keep 
all trre weeds out of the corn, otherwise the 
young- shoots will be quickly smothered by the 
quicker, ranker, more virile weeds. Similar cul- 
tivation should be given sorghum as given to 
Indian corn. Shallow culture is to be com- 
mended. Sorghum for molasses is stripped of its 
leaves before maturity and the heads are cut off 
by hand. The stalks are then tied in bundles 6 or 
8 inches in diameter and either taken to the mill or 
stored until convenient to do this. Cold weather 
is injurious to the cane and for that reason it should 
be got out of the way before frost comes on. 

Sorghum for Forage. — For forage purposes the 
sorghum plant grows in popularity and its dominion 
is gradually being extended. In the drier portions 
of the country a small acreage is usually given to 
it on many farms. It is sown broadcast, i to 2 
bushels of seed being used to the acre. The seed 
may be harrowed or disked into the soil. Cowpeas 
are frequently put in the mixture, from ^ to I 
bushel of seed being used. A better balanced 
ration is secured in this way. Sorghum helps to 
hold up the cowpeas and a very heavy mowing is 
obtained. Sorghum draws from the soil great quan- 
tities of water. When grown one year the succeed- 
ing year the soil often shows less growth in what- 
ever crop is grown than similar lands show. This 
indicates that the sorghum plant has great ability 
to get the small pickings out of the land. 

It is not advisa-ble, therefore, to follow sorghum 
with corn or a rank growing crop. Grass, cowpeas 
or the less greedy plants should be employed. In 
planting sorghum it is necessary to have the land 
free from weeds. If the land is weedy the sorghum 



SORGHUM 217 

cannot make headway a.^ainst them. For hav pur- 
poses, cut when the grain is in the dough, ^Ing a 
mower, binder, or, if planted in rows, a corn har- 
vester. After cutting allow the sorghum to remain 
on the ground until it is partially cured, then rake 
up and store in shocks. Little difficulty is encoun- 
tered in curing and if good-sized shocks are made 
they will, as a rule, turn the water. The sorghum 
hay can either be fed from the shocks or taken to 
the barn and fed or stored in stacks. From 3 to 
12 or 15 tons of cured forage are made to the acre. 
Two cuttings give larger returns than a single 
cutting. More forage will generally be obtained 
from the sorghum than if the same land were given 
over to corn. 

As a soiling crop sorghum is well liked. At any 
time during the summer the green forage can be 
fed to all classes of live stock, but it is generally 
used for feeding dairy cows. It is not advisable 
to allow either sheep or cattle to have free access 
to a green sorghum until they have got used to it, 
and often then death may occur to some, due to the 
prussic acid that is formed when sorghum is cured 
into hay. Feeding is done as with corn stover, 
either in the barn lot or in the open fields. As a 
silo crop sorghum has not proved a success. The 
most satisfactory return-s from feeding the grain 
are secured when ground and fed in connection 
with some other feeding stuff relatively rich in 
protein. 

Harvesting for Fodder. — Two methods may be 
followed in harvesting sorghum. The most com- 
mon is to cut with mower, let it cure for a few days, 
then pile up in large shocks 8 or 10 feet high, and 
let it remain in the field until wanted for feed or 



21 8 FARM CROPS 

until it has dried out thoroughly, when it can be 
taken to the mower or placed in stacks convenient 
to the feed lot. 

Begin cutting when some of the heads are pretty 
well ripened, as it will not do to cut early before 
the sugar begins to form in the juice. Do not be 
afraid of making the shocks in the field too large. 
There will be plenty of air space between the stalks 
and the larger the shock the greener and fresher 
the forage. Then, too, have no fear about the keep- 
ing of the fodder in the field. It is coarse and will 
turn water almost as well as a thatched roof. The 
outside of the shock will bleach, but just beneath 
the surface the fodder will be bright and green. 
Where the crop is heavy the shocks will stand very 
thick on the ground. 

The other method, and one rapidly growing in 
favor, is to drill in rows and cut with the corn 
binder. Make the bundles very small, not more 
than 6 inches in diameter. Let them lie in the field 
until pretty well cured out. This may take a week 
or more if the weather is dry. It is best to be in no 
hurry about standing them up. If rains come while 
on the ground, the fodder is apt to be spattered with 
mud. If one has the time it is very satisfactory to 
stand, say, half a dozen bundles in a place and after 
they have dried for a time, build into bigger shocks, 
there practically being no limit, provided the tops 
are tied tightly together so as to keep out the rain ; 
or, as in some places where the fodder is to stand out 
all winter, the tops are covered with bundles broken 
at the bands as cap sheaves for small grain stock. 
This method of harvesting is decidedly the best, 
as the crop is so much more easily handled in bun- 
dles than when loose. The bundles are hauled to 



SOY BEANS 



219 



the feed lot or barn on a low wagon. It is useless 
to attempt to handle them with a fork. 

SOY BEANS. — Like the cowpea, the soy bean 
wants warm weather in which to grow, and it oc- 




THE SOY BEAN 

It is a native of China and Japan. It is an 
erect annual, with branching stems and heavy 
forage much like the common field bean in ap- 
pearance. The plant stands dry seasons ex- 
tremely well and its domain is gradually being 
enlarged. 



cupies about the same time in coming into matur- 
ity. The small dwarf varieties will mature in 90 
days or less from the date of planting, but the time 
required for the larger sorts is from 120 to 140 
days. The uses of the soy bean are somewhat 
similar to those of the cowpea. It may be grown to 
furnish grazing for cattle, sheep or swine, but in 
providing food for swine it has highest adaptation, 
although when thus grown and harvested by the 



220 FARM CROPS 

swine, the grain produced is the only part utilized. 
It is also grown to furnish hay and grain for 
stock. In some localities its highest use has been 
found in growing it for the silo. When made into 
silage along with corn it adds protein to the 
feed. It is also an excellent renovator of the 
soil. 

Place in Rotation. — It may be given any place in 
the rotation, but it usually comes in best after some 
winter crop has been grazed down, and in some in- 
stances after it has been harvested. In the Northern 
states it may come after winter rye has been grazed 
down. In Central and Southern states it may be made 
to come after any winter cereal has been harvested. 
The soy bean will grow on a wide range of soils. 
However, it wants more fertile soil than will answer 
for the cowpea. It would not be wise to sow it on 
poor lands without the application of some kind of 
fertilizer. It grows well on nearly all the soils of 
the prairie region and it will do reasonably well on 
clays. 

Varieties to Plant. — Far north in the United 
States varieties known as the Early Dwarf and the 
Extra Early Dwarf are among the best to grow. 
They may answer well to furnish gleaning for 
swine and also to fertilize the land when grown 
as a catch crop, as it were, in the summer season. 
Farther south, the two varieties known as the Early 
Yellow and the Medium Early Green are among 
the best. The former is a favorite in Kansas and 
the latter in Massachusetts. The Medium Late 
Green and the Medium Late Black will grow nicely 
farther south. The Early Green and Early Yellow 
both grow large enough to admit of putting them 
into the silo. 



SOY BEANS 221 

When the ground has been well mellowed and 
the crop is wanted for pasture in the green form, 
or for hay or manure, it may be broadcasted or 
planted in rows. When wanted mainly for the 
grain, the seed is put in rows with the corn with 
the grain drill more commonly, but sometimes with 
the corn planter or ordinary bean planter. In 
growing the small varieties, the rows may be as 
near as 24 inches. The largest varieties call for 
a distance between the rows of not less than 3 feet. 
The plants in the row will bear growing thickly, 
as the habit of growth is upright. The distance 
between the plants may vary from 2 to 5 or 6 
inches, according to the size of the plants. The 
amount of seed used per acre is seldom less than 
half a bushel. 

When once started, soy beans are hardy plants. 
They will stand being run over with a weeder or 
light harrow after they are up, without taking much 
harm. But one or the other of these implements 
ought to be used on them just before they appear, 
and then, if necessary, once after they are up. Later, 
the corn cultivators may be kept going until the 
season of bloom. With careful attention to the cul- 
tivation, hand hoeing may not be necessary. The 
cultivation thus given very effectively summer 
fallows the soil. 

SPELT. — One of the types of the wheat family 
widely cultivated in ancient times. Outside of 
Spain, it is sparingly cultivated or used. In this 
country it has been used as a stock food only, and 
that largely in an experimental way. Both spring 
and winter varieties are found, but in neither case 
is the yield as great as with common wheat. Its 
most fatal disease is rust, but it withstands other 



222 FARM CROPS 

ailments better than the other wheat varieties. It 
has another good quaHty — its ability to hold the 
grain in the spike. Common wheat shatters very 
easily, but spelt never shatters. It is not believed 
that there is much future for spelt in this 
country. 

SPURRY. — A plant highly esteemed as a pasture 
for cattle and sheep and for its fodder. It has been 
found specially valuable as a pasture for sheep and 
milch cows. Animals pastured on it are not liable 
to injury from bloat. Though they may not take 
kindly to the pasture at the first, they soon get ex- 
ceedingly fond of it, both in the green and cured 
form. It also has good milk-producing and fatten- 
ing properties. 

Spurry is a tiny-like plant which grows from a 
few inches to fully 20 inches in height, according 
to the soil. The variety that has come into the 
market under the name of giant spurry is simply 
the ordinary spurry. It is not capable of making 
a stronger growth than ordinary spurry, as the name 
would indicate. The stems of spurry are numerous 
and exceedingly branched. They are fine in char- 
acter, and they so interlace as to make it difficult 
to walk through the crop in an advanced stage of 
growth without tripping. The flowers are very 
many, are not more than one-eighth of an inch in 
diameter and are white in color. The seeds are 
small. They are contained in small seed heads 
resembling those of flax, but not more than half as 
large. They vary from dark brown to black in 
color. The plants seed profusely. On some soils 
the yield of fodder has been estimated as equal to 
that of clover, but ordinarily it would not be so 
much. 



SPURRY 223 

The plant has special adaptation for light, sandy 
soils, and for climates that are moist. Whether it 
will be given a place of much prominence in our 
agriculture has yet to be determined. On produc- 
tive soils it is not likely to come into general favor, 
since other plants equally nutritious will give 
greater yields. But on light, sandy soils low in fer- 
tility it should render valuable service where 
moisture is sufficiently abundant. When plowed 
under in the green form it has been found specially 
helpful in giving body to the light, sandy soil, and 
in otherwise fitting it to grow successfully crops of 
clover and grain. 

Spurry should be sown more as a catch crop than 
as a regular crop in the rotation. It should be ready 
to pasture or to plow under in from 6 to 8 
weeks from the date of sowing, providing it is not 
sown before the weather has become warm. Where 
there is moisture enough to insure germination, 
spurry can be sown after a grain crop, and simply 
covered with a harrow. On the bare fallow it also 
has a place. When grown as a green manure or as 
a pasture for sheep, two crops a year may be 
secured, and in some climates three. This crop, 
therefore, is worthy of attention on the part of 
farmers, more especially on pine lands where the 
soil is sandy and poor and where the climate is 
moist in character. 

Since spurry is best adapted to light, sandy lands, 
but little labor is necessary in preparing the soil. 
The seed should fall on a smooth, impacted and fine 
surface, and it may be sown and covered in the 
same way as clover seed. As the seed is small, a 
light harrow will give a sufficient covering. From 
6 to 8 quarts of seed are sown to the acre to 



224 FARM CROPS 

provide pasture, fodder or green manure. But a 
less quantity will suffice to produce a seed crop in 
good form. It is ready to cut for hay after the seed 
has formed and before it is ripe. The seed may be 
harvested and threshed like clover seed. When 
grown for the seed, a sufficient quantity is likely to 
shatter out to produce a crop the next year by 
simply running the harrow over the land in the 
early spring. 

Spurry has been called "the clover of light, sandy 
soils," because of its value in improving the same, 
both in texture and fertility, when grown as a green 
manure. It should be turned under with a light 
furrow that the plant food may be kept near the 
surface. If some of the seed is allowed to ripen 
before the crop is thus buried, another crop of 
spurry will grow above the decaying plants with- 
out the necessity of sowing any more seed. Under 
some conditions it is possible to plow under three 
crops of spurry in one season. 

SUGAR BEET.— A root crop for sugar and feed. 
The dried pulp, a by-product of the sugar factories, 
is an excellent food for live stock, especially for 
dairy cows. So, too, are the whole roots good, but 
they cost too much. The beets are much relished 
by stock and their physiological effect is an aid to 
digestion like all succulent rations. The dried pulp 
acts in this way and compares favorably with many 
concentrate feeds. When grown under proper cul- 
tural conditions the amount of sugar will vary from 
12 to 20 per cent, depending on the variety and soil. 
Most of the seed is obtained from Europe, though 
small amounts are now being secured in this coun- 
try, with possibilities that the industry will be 
enlarged. 



SUGAR BEET 



225 



To grow beet seed special technical skill is re- 
quired. It is always advisable to know how much 
sugar is in the beet before it is allowed to mature 
for seed purposes. It is by patience and industry 
that it is ascer- 
tained and be- 
cause of them the 
high sugar con- 
tent of beets has 
been developed. 
Chemical ma- 

nures are neces- 
sary in growing 
beets except in 
the most fertile 
soils. Phos- 

phorus and po- 
tassium are espe- 
cially important. 
The use of phos- 
phatic fertilizers 
has a tendency to 
increase the 
sugar content of 
the juice. Ex- 
cept in connec- 
tion with phos- SUGAR BEET 

phorus and The two most commonly grown va- 

, . . rieties of sugar beet in this country 

pOtaSSmm nitrog- are the Vilmorin Improved and Klein- 

<»n/-\i f f'T wanzlebener. The former usually an- 

enOUS lertllizers alyzes a little higher percentage in 

clnr.iilH K^ ct^or sugar, but the latter gives the higher 

snouia DC spar- yield. Most of the sugar beet seed 

ingly applied. If g^^^pe!"" *^''^ country is grown in 

used excessively 

they produce abnormally large beets and the sugar 

content is low. They should always be grown in 




226 FARM CROPS 

some rotation system, a popular one being corn 
heavily manured with stable manure the first year, 
followed by beets the second, oats or barley the 
third, and clover the fourth. Then corn again, the 
rotation being repeated. By applying the barnyard 
manure to the corn the weed seeds will be sprouted 
and killed in cultivation. The rank growth that 
barnyard manure tends to cause will be lost by the 
time the beets come in the rotation and the soil will 
be put in excellent condition for the beet crop. 

Preparing Land for Sugar Beets. — The best soil 
for the sugar beet is a strong, rich, well-drained 
loam, with a porous subsoil. The beet does well 
on a great variety of soils provided the land is 
properly prepared, but at the start only those fields 
should be put into the crop that from the best 
obtainable knowledge are believed to be well 
adapted to the crop. It is important that the land 
should be in a good degree of fertility, and. so far 
as possible, free from weeds. 

The main thing is deep plowing. Here is where 
the average farmer errs when he begins beet cul- 
ture. Deep plowing is needed 1)ecause the beet is 
a deep-rooting plant. To make the best growth, 
richest in sugar, the soil must be so deep that the 
plant will bury the top of the root under the 
soil, as the parsnip does, and at the same time 
be able to send its taproot down without let or 
hindrance. 

Of course fall plowing is best. But whether 
spring or fall plowed 8 to lo inches deep is neces- 
sary. Put on a stout team and plow 8 to lo inches 
deep, provided you do not turn up an inch or two of 
fresh soil that has never before seen the light of 
day. In many cases, too miich of this fresh soil 



SUGAR BEET 



227 



on the surface will retard germination of beet seed 
and interfere with the best development of the 
young plants. The ordinary plow should be fol- 
lowed by a subsoil plow that will stir the subsoil 
several inches below the depth reached by the first 
plow, but not throw the subsoil on top. The more 
compact the subsoil, the more necessary does this 
subsoiling become. Indeed, it cannot be dispensed 
with, at least where the entire preparation of the 
land must be done in the spring. 

Having thus reached a good depth with the two 
plows, put on a spike-toothed harrow with long 
teeth and weight it so that it will reach as far down 
as the first plow went. If you have a narrow- 
toothed cultivator for such deep work it would be 
still better. There are various forms of cultivators 
or harrows that can be used. This will give you 
a soil thoroughly pulverized down to a depth of 6 
or 8 inches, and quite well opened up. The surface 
should now be prepared for seeding by going over 
it with a light harrow that will give a seed 
bed 2 or 3 inches deep in a perfectly fine condi- 
tion. If the soil is very dry and there is danger 
of its blowing in heavy winds, it may be well to 
roll it. 

Sow the seed in drills 20 inches apart. A variety 
of excellent seed drills or machines is available for 
this purpose. Better use too much than too little 
seed, as the beet is not successfully transplanted. 
If the soil is reasonably moist and the weather 
warm, thus favoring germination, several pounds 
less an acre may be used than if the land is wet 
and the air cold. Better use 15 or even 20 pounds 
of seed an acre than have a slim stand because of 
too little seed. This is a point upon which there 



228 FARM CROPS 

are great differences of opinion ; all the way from 
3 to 20 pounds of seed are used, but experienced 
growers usually plant about lo or 12 pounds. The 
rows should be about 20 inches apart to permit of 
horse cultivation, but 14 inches apart will do for 
hand culture. 

When the outside leaves take on a yellowish 
tinge and drop to the ground the beets are ripe and 
should be harvested. The mature beets are richer 
in sugar than the immature, and the more mature 
when pulled also the richer the sugar. The beets 
may remain in the soil for a considerable time after 
ripening without injury. Cold weather does no 
damage if freezing and thawing do not alternate. 
The sugar content will be lessened if the beets start 
a second growth in the fall. The harvesting is 
done either by special sugar beet pullers or by 
plowing down one or both sides of the row to loosen 
the beets so that they can more easily be pulled out 
by hand. The tops are cut off, including that part 
of the root to which the stems of the leaves have 
been attached. 

Upon being harvested they are either stored or 
sent to the market at once. If stored they should 
be put in long narrow piles and covered with suf- 
ficient straw and earth for protection against frost. 
If too much earth is added in early fall the beets 
may get warm and ferment, thus losing some of the 
sugar. A ventilator placed at the top of the pile 
will enable the heat and moisture to escape. 

SUGAR CANE. — A gigantic grass with fibrous 
roots which reach laterally in every direction. The 
stalk is a cylinder, varying in diameter from i to 2 
inches with joints from 2 to 6 inches apart on the 
stalk. The stalks vary in color, running from white 



SUGAR CANE 229 

to black and even yellow, green and purple. For- 
merly it was thought that sugar cane could be 
grown only in tropical lands, but it is now grown 
very successfully in this country, especially in 
Louisiana. Much cane is grown in Georgia, Ala- 
bama and Mississippi. An enormous amount of 
water is required for the best development of the 
cane and where the rainfall is deficient irrigation is 
practiced. While water is required in great abun- 
dance, a well-drained soil is absolutely essential to 
vigorous growth and to large, mature canes. The 
soils best adapted to canes are those which con- 
tain the largest amount of fertilizing material and 
which have a large water-holding capacity. 

Cane is usually planted in 5 to 6-foot rows, A 
trench is opened in the center of the row with a 
plow and in this open furrow is deposited a con- 
tinuous line of stalks which are carefully covered 
with plow, cultivator or hoe. From one to three 
continuous lines of stalks are placed in the furrow. 
From 2 to 6 tons of seed cane are required for an 
acre. In favorable seasons this cane soon sprouts 
and then cultivation begins. Each 3^oung sprout 
sends out many shoots and soon the entire row is 
filled with cane. Being a rank grower large quan- 
tities of fertilizers are needed. The usual quantity 
to an acre varies from 400 to 700 pounds. The 
cane is harvested annually on account of the frost 
of winters which would be destructive to a good 
yield of sugar. The sugar content varies from 11 
to 16 per cent. The sandy soils of Georgia, Florida 
and Alabama give a richer juice than the alluvial 
soils of Louisiana. , 

The cane is crushed for sugar before winter and 
the crop harvested before frost comes. The leaves 



230 FARM CROPS 

are stripped off and the first and sometimes the 
second of the upper joints removed. The yield of 
sugar cane varies from 10 to 50 tons to the acre and 
the amount of sugar in a ton of cane from 100 to 
300 pounds, besides a considerable amount of 
molasses. The sugar from the cane may be manu- 
factured on a small scale and with comparatively 
simple machinery. For the economical production 
of sugar of the best quality an expensive plant is 
necessary 

SUNFLOWER.— A native annual from 8 to 20 
feet high with heads from 8 to 16 inches in diameter. 
The seed is gray, brown or striped. In growing a 
crop of sunflower the land should be prepared as 
for corn. The seed is placed in drills 2 or 3 inches 
deep, about 3 feet apart and about 15 pounds of 
seed to the acre. When the plants are from 6 to 8 
inches high the rows should be thinned, leaving one 
stalk to about 16 inches on an average. Slight 
frosts do not injure the plants and maturity of the 
crop is generally reached. The sunflower heads 
should be harvested before the seed is fully ripe 
else much will be shattered out and lost. 

When thoroughly dry the heads are beaten out 
with a flail. Seed may be stored in small bins or 
barrels. Avoid a large quantity in one place or bin 
in order to prevent heating. From 750 to 900 
pounds of seed are obtained from an acre with the 
price running from 3 to 4 cents a pound. The seeds 
are used for different purposes ; for making oil, for 
bird and poultry seed and for stock feed. Very 
often the sunflower heads are mixed with corn for 
silage, and they make a very superior feed. Butter 
resulting from this kind of feed is of rich flavor and 
of high color. The Mammoth Russian is an im- 




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232 



FARM CROPS 



proved variety with seeds about Yi inch long, black 
in color or with brownish stripes. The heads run 
from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. It is one of the 
best varieties for the production of oil. 

Black Giant, another popular variety, has heads 
ranging from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. The 
seeds are not quite as long and are black in color. 
A silage mixture known as Robertson's mixture is 
a mixture of sunflower heads, horse beans and corn, 
in the proportion of two acres of corn and beans 
to one-half acre of sunflowers. This mixture, al- 
though much publicity was given it a few years ago, 
has not come into use in this country. The sun- 
flower has a narrow field of usefulness ; if grown 
at all on most farms, it will be for a limited supply 
of poultry feed. 

SWEET CLOVER.— A strong, vigorous grow- 
ing biennial. It is branched and upright in its 
habit of growth. It is one of the most hardy plants 
of the clover family. When once firmly rooted it 
has great power to withstand drouth and heat, and 
it can also endure low temperatures. Being a 
ravenous feeder it is able to maintain itself in soils 
too poor to sustain other species of the clover 
family. It is a legume and one which has much 
power to renovate soils. A plant, therefore, which 
is possessed of such powers should not be looked 
upon as worthless. It has not been much grown 
for pasture, but for such use it may yet prove to 
be of value. When sheep, for instance, have 
access to a variety of grasses they usually pass 
sweet clover by, even when it is young and ten- 
der. But if confined to such a pasture when it 
first begins to grow they soon begin to crop 
it down. 



SWEET POTATO 233 

Sweet clover can be sown only In the spring or 
summer in very cold latitudes, but in those that 
are mild it can be sown in the autumn or spring, 
preferably the former. Usually not less than 15 
pounds of the seed is sown to the acre. In the 
South it is frequently sown on the surface of stub- 
ble lands after the crop has been harvested, and 
when thus sown it is only covered by the harrow. 
If sweet clover is kept from blossoming, the land 
will soon be freed from it. Although it seeds 
profusely, the high price of seed at the present 
time stands much in the way of extending its 
growth. 

SWEET POTATO.— If one wishes to set out 
100 to 200 sweet potato plants it may be cheaper 
to buy them from a local dealer, or if they cannot be 
obtained from him, to send to a seedsman and have 
them sent by mail. If one wishes to set 500 or 
more plants he had better raise them himself. 
For growing plants the seed should be placed in a 
hotbed in soil about 2 inches above the manure and 
covered with at least 3 inches of soil ; 4 would 
be better. Place the seed potatoes one deep as 
closely together as may be without touching. When 
they are covered, press the soil down over them 
firmly. The ideal size for seed is i^ inches in 
diameter. Be sure not to use seed that shows any 
sign of black rot or any other fungous disease. A 
peck of seed will raise 500 plants at the first pull- 
ing. If care is taken not to disturb the potato 
when pulling the plants, there may be a second 
pulling. 

Soil and Fertilizers. — A warm, sandy soil of fair 
to good richness is to be preferred. If this type is 
not available any kind may be used, but sticky soils 



234 FA TUT CROPS 

niij'lil |() l)(' avoided. riicv inii I nfcl Iicf .-ni<| lessen 
llu" yi(d(I. \V(dl rolled h.ii ii yard iiiaiiiire is Iielp 
fill lo any soil and will he splendidly acconnlecl 
for il adde(| lo ihe svveel polalo palcli. The host 
lime lo .'ipI'Lv '"^ <lniin[^; Ihe fall and winter 
months. 

i''or fell ili/ini'; a eoni|)lete niannre is l)est, es- 
])ccially if Ihe land is old and j)ossessed of little 
Ininnis. A mixture c-onsist in}^' of 200 pounds of 
nilrate of so<la, d^o jxnnnis of aeid i)hos])hatc and 
I S<> |)onnds of snlphale of potash makes a very 
salislaelory feil ili/(M-. Anywhere from 200 to 1 ,000 
ponnds of this niixtnre ran he used to tlie acre. In 
case Ihe soil is already snpi)lied with organic niat- 
tcM", nilro<;en in the fert ili/.eis applied may be 
omided. I'olash is of most imporlanee, and 
especially desirahle ; phosphoric aeid also, althonj^li 
in a loss de<;ree. 

The Farmer's Little Patch. — The plants need not 
be \ery laiijn', '•"' shonid he wcdl rooted. As the 
])lanls are pnlled llu-y shonid he pnl in bnndles of 
from j^ lo 50 each, and in this shai)c they can l)e 
])laced in a \essel of water and kept several days 
withont iiijni\. In preparinj; Ihe soil for settinj.^ 
the plants, Ihe ideal way wonld be to nse }j^round 
thai was plowed in Ihe fall before and simply work 
it np line befoic |»lant ini;". Ihil in case this has not 
been done the ;;ronnd shonid he well i)nlveri/.ed, 
then rolled 01 packed, and then lai<l iA'i' in ri(lj.^cs 
,^ fi'el apart fioin ceider to cimiUm-. l\id_i;es arc best 
made hy innnin^ a small plow once on each side, 
wdiich j.;ives a Hatter ridi^i' than if a lari^er plow 
were nscd making' one of loose dirt compact at the 
hot I ( »iii. 

'IMie plants shoidd be i)laced abont 15 inches 



s\vi':i':'i I'o'i'A'i'o 235 

apart. Tii setliiii^ them use a dibMc mikI after 111 
seiliiii;' llie plan! in llie Iiolc |)rcss llic ^,(til lii-mly 
ahoiil il. A week or 1 w « > alUr llic pi. mis aii' scl, 
a eiill i\'al(»r may he nin Ixlwccii llic ridi^cs and 
although il may tear lliciii down somewlial, il will 
not distnrl) the i)lanls. Il mii^hl be well about this 
time to hoe Ijelween the i)lanls, or probably a little 
later. The plants should not be set imtil danger of 
frost is over, 'I'he selliuL;' may be doiu- in any way 
most eonvenieul, provided plants in ^ood eonditiou 
are set hrndy into j^ood, uioist soil, preferably late 
in the afternoon or cveniujj;', or on a eloudy day. 
If set in this way no walerinj^' is needed, but have 
the ])lants wet at the time of setting. If the weather 
is hot and the grouud very dry it will be necessary 
to use water. 

Setting Large Areas. — When many plants are to 
be set and the ridges are in good eonditiou, run a 
furrow a little to one side of the center of the ridge 
with a hand whe(d plow and have the i)lants 
(h'op])ed on the side of this furrow, which is in the 
center of the ridge. A man follows and covers 
with a hoe, stepping on the soil over each plant 
with his whole weight, thus packing it lirm and 
tight. Plants arc drop])ed at a distance of 12 to 24 
inches apart, according to the variety and the i)ur- 
pose for which they are being grown, but about 15 
inches a])art is the usual average. 

In a week or ten days after the plants are set, 
they should be gone through with a cultivator. I 
like the harrow cultivator best for the first time. 
At this time they should also be gone over lightly 
with the hoe and if any of the first setting have died 
they may be re])laced in order that the stand may 
be as perfect as possible. After this the cultivator 



236 



FARM CROPS 



should be run through them once a week until they 
begin to vine considerably, or enough so that in a 
short time the whole surface will be covered by 
them. During the time of cultivation the hoe 
should be used freely and often, and all weeds and 
grass destroyed soon after the plants make their 
appearance. Also the soil should be kept hoed to 
the plants rather than away from them and at the 
last plowing it is usual to use something larger than 
a common cultivator — a large single shovel having 
the preference. 

Treatment of the Vines. — If the vines get quite 
long before this last plowing it may be necessary 

to turn them into each alter- 
.^^-|J^j^ nate middle, plowing the one 
^^i ^?s^^;g^ from which they have been 
turned. They are turned into 
the middles, freshly plowed, 
and the remaining ones also 
plowed. A little hand work 
with the hoe after plowing is 
done, drawing up a little earth 



here and uncovering a little 
there where the plow may 
have thrown too much, and 
the labor of cultivation may 
be considered finished. In a 
short time the vines will cover 
the whole ground and keep 
down all weeds and grass, provided there was none 
left at the last cultivation, and a bountiful crop 
may confidently be expected, if the soil is good and 
the work has been thoroughly done. 

TALL FESCUE.— Also known as tall meadow 
fescue and taller fescue. The leaves are rather fine. 




TALLER FESCUE 




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TALL OAT GRASS 



237 



This fescue is adapted to pasture or meadow, but is 
inferior to timothy as a hay crop. It is a palatable 
hay, cattle preferring it to timothy or red top. It 
starts in the spring at about the same time as Ken- 
tucky blue grass. In seeding a fine compact soil is 
desirable. Some time is necessary to get the plant 
established — at least two or 
three years — before a good 
sod is secured. Because of 
this fact, together with the 
high cost of seed, the tall 
fescue is not adapted for tem- 
porary pastures. When to be 
grown, use in a mixture with 
the common grasses of the 
section. 

TALL OAT GRASS.— A 
strong fibrous perennial 
growing from 3 to 5 feet high. 
It is hardy, a good drouth 
resister and produces heavily 
both of stems and leaves. If 
grown alone it makes unsuit- 
able hay because of its 
coarseness and woody nature. 
Mixed with other grass seed 
like timothy, red top or the 
fescues it can be very satis- 
factorily used, and adds to 
the value of the mixture. 
Well-drained and fairly rich 
soils are best liked by it, but 

it will grow on uplands and in all soils that are 
favorable to timothy and red top. As soon as the 
blossoms appear the crop should be cut. The sec- 




TALL OAT GRASS 

This European peren- 
nial produces an abun- 
dance of leaves and tall 
stems, is hardy and re- 
sists drouth well. It is 
unsuited for hay except 
in mixtures. It is con- 
sidered inferior to either 
timothy or orchard grass. 



238 FARM CROPS 

ond season gives a better yield than the first. Usu- 
ally two cuttings and sometimes three are obtained 
annually and from 2 to 5 tons to the acre. In pro- 
viding a mixture, it is a good rule to use only a 
small proportion of this grass in the regular mixture. 

TEOSINTE.— A forage plant closely related to 
corn. It is an annual and in appearance much like 
corn with no ear formed. The tassel looks very 
much like corn. It grows very rank, stands from 10 to 
15 feet in height and bears a great quantity of leaves 
and tender stems. A single root may possess 40 to 
50 stalks. A rich soil with a good deal of moisture 
is demanded by it and it fancies hot climates. It 
cannot resist drouth and for this reason in the drier 
sections of the country sorghum and kafir corn are 
more desirable crops. It is grown very little in the 
Northern states, its preference being for the South 
along the gulf. The best time to plant is in the 
latter part of May or early June. It is put in drills 
3 to 4 feet apart and planted 12 to 16 inches apart 
in the row. If hill planted three or four seeds 
should be used to the hill and the hills placed 3 
feet apart in the row. Rich lands call for less seed 
than poor lands. Generally speaking about 3 
pounds of seed are used to the acre when thick 
planting is resorted to and I pound to the acre for 
rich and fertile soils. 

The crop is best used for soiling purposes. It is 
so juicy and succulent that to cure it, especially 
in moist regions, is well-nigh an impossibility. 
It has been successfully ensiled, but is not so good 
for this purpose as corn. One beauty about the 
crop for soiling purposes is that it can be cut several 
times during a season. If allowed to mature and 
used as dry fodder it makes a very heavy yield, 



TIMOTHY 239 

running several tons of dry matter to the acre. For 
a forage and soiling crop there is no reason why 
teosinte should not be more generally grown than 
it is. Stock relish it, and its food value is high. 
There is very little of it wasted when fed. It is a 
crop that should be well tried out by dairymen. 

TIMOTHY.— Clean timothy hay is the standard 
of commerce in this country. By it all other hays 
are compared. It is the most expensive hay either 
when fed or purchased. It is expensive when pur- 
chased, because it is the highest-priced hay and 
when fed because its feeding value is not com- 
mensurate with the price. As a feed it is low in 
protein ; much lower than any of the legume hays. 
Its great popularity is due, perhaps, more largely 
to the fact that it is usually free from dust. It is 
commonly fed to work horses throughout the land, 
often being sent long distances to regions where it 
does not readily grow. But the native grasses or 
legume hays, if properly cured, would make as 
clean feed and more satisfactory feed for farm 
horses, because the nutrients contained are in all 
cases better balanced. 

The popularity of timothy hay makes its grow- 
ing remunerative to the farmer. It is to his advan- 
tage to dispose of timothy at high prices and to 
purchase other hays and grains with the money 
received. He will not only get a better feed 
through the exchange, but something to boot at 
the same time. This grass likes a moist soil and 
does its best on rich lands. It is a perennial and 
grows from 2 to 5 feet high. It abhors sandy soils 
and shows it by a scanty growth. The clay loams 
attract it and on these or moist lowlands the best 
returns are secured. 



240 FARM CROPS 

Timothy is an exhaustive crop. It adds no nitro- 
g^en to the soil as do the legumes, and not much 
humus is ever returned to the land. Its shallow 
feeding fibrous roots are not helpful in subsoiling 
the earth as do most of our other farm crops. 
Being a shallow feeder, the roots suffer if dry- 
weather continues for any length of time. Timothy 
is responsive to top dressings of stable manure, to 
nitrate of soda and other chemical fertilizers. While 
most timothy fields may be pastured heavily, 
pasturing during wet weather is very disastrous. 
The common practice that prevails throughout the 
country of seeding timothy on wheat lands, to be 
followed the following spring by clover in the 
standing wheat is an excellent one. After the 
wheat is harvested the clover shows splendid 
growth that summer, and is at its best the follow- 
ing year. Timothy, being a slow-growing crop, 
does not show much activity the first or second 
summer. During the following spring and sum- 
mer, when the clover has pretty largely disappeared, 
the timothy becomes strong, healthy looking and 
vigorous. You see, the clover helped not only the 
land, but the timothy crop also. The deep-grow- 
ing roots penetrated into the subsoil, bringing phos- 
phorus and potassium from the storehouse beneath 
and left much humus in the soil ; and their graves 
were rich in nitrogen, a gift to the timothy that is 
very satisfying and manifested in the subsequent 
crops. Wheat is a good nurse crop for timothy, but 
timothy may be grown without a nurse crop. Good 
results are secured from both methods. If seeded in 
the fall, seed right with wheat. The compact condition 
of the soil secured in preparing the land for wheat 
is just what timothy likes, and whether seeded alone 



TIMOTHY 241 

or with wheat or oats or barley, the soil should be 
fine, mellow and compact. If seeded alone, from 
12 to 15 pounds are used to the acre, and if seeded 
with wheat about 10 pounds to the acre, followed 
with from 5 to 10 pounds of clover the following 
spring. 

When clover and timothy are mixed the hay is 
not so valuable if feed markets are catered to, but 
the farmer always has need for this hay himself. 
It is good policy to keep this mixed hay for home 
use and to sell the clear timothy to the feed man 
who is willing to pay a high price for it, even 
though he secures a less valuable feed. There 
seems to be no special rule for cutting. Some cut 
very early; some very late. The ideal time, as 
shown by chemical analysis of the crops, is when 
the blooming period has passed, say when the blooms 
begin to fall. This gives a nutritious food and it 
is more appetizing. The yield varies ; frequently 
hay lands in which timothy predominates have been 
so long in hay that a small yield only is secured, 
often as little as a half to one ton to the acre. 
Where good culture is given the meadow lands, 
especially those in rotations, far better yields are 
secured, running from 2 to 4 tons to the acre ; often 
cuttings of timothy and of clover vary from 6 to 8 
tons to the acre in a single year. If seed is de- 
sired, let the crop stand until the heads are brown 
and the seeds fairly ripe. It is then cut with a 
reaper and the bundles put in shocks. After cur- 
ing a week or ten days, it is ready for threshing 
with yields varying from 5 to 15 bushels to the 
acre, depending on the stand and the vitality of 
the grass. 



242 FARM CROPS 

TOBACCO. — A plant native to this country and 
consisting of many varieties, each of which requires 
special soil preparation and culture. Being a highly 
specialized crop, the utmost care and attention is 
necessary in selecting soil and in cultivating the 
crop. Until recent years, the small details of culture 
have been left unattended, thereby lessening the re- 
turns in production. When tobacco sells at a normal 
price, on the same basis as other crops of the farm, 
none gives a larger profit to the acre, especially 
when the details of culture and of curing are not 
neglected. 

Unlike other farm crops, tobacco requires much 
devotion at first to get the crop started. A seed 
bed is necessary in which to start the plants from 
which they are later removed and transplanted in 
the field. The old method in the South was to cut 
a clearing in the woods near a small stream ; a 
southern exposure is preferred. This land is spaded 
in the fall, wood is burned over it so as to put it in 
good condition and to fertilize the bed. Many 
growers cover the selected seed bed during the win- 
ter with leaves and manure so as to keep it from 
freezing. In the spring this top dressing is re- 
moved, a liberal application of cottonseed meal 
or some nitrogenous fertilizer is applied and raked 
in, leaving the soil in mellow, fine and compact 
condition — just the condition that the tiny seeds 
require for their best germination and growth. It 
takes from the time of planting in the seed bed, 
until ready for transplanting, many weeks. To 
shorten this period many farmers germinate the 
seed before sowing in the seed bed. They moisten 
the seed and place it in a medium like apple tree 
punk or cocoanut fiber made soft with warm water. 



TOBACCO 



243 



The temperature is kept around 70 to 75 degrees. 
When the seed begins to germinate it is mixed with 
fine ashes and sown broadcast on the beds at the 
rate of a teaspoonful to about every 10 square 
yards. The seed bed is now left to itself and the 




TOBACCO 

In topping tobacco, the bud is broken off at the top of the 
stalk. This is done when the button is well put out. By this 
means, the leaves grow much larger, ripen up more evenly, and 
their quality and appearance are much improved. 

field in which the plants are later to be transplanted 
is put in shape. 

Unlike other field crops, tobacco is very par- 
ticular about the soil in which it is to grow. Hence 
only a small part of any farm is usually available. 
The land should be plowed deep, and harrowed at 
least once a week until transplanting time. From 



244 FARM CROPS 

one to three weeks before the plants are set, the 
rows are laid out, usually 3 to 3^ feet apart. The 
distance between the rows varies with the different 
varieties and the localities. When the plants are 
from 4 to 6 inches high in the seed bed, they are 
ready for transplanting. The bed is thoroughly 
watered so as to prevent injury to the roots. Pull- 
ing up in the morning is a good practice as the 
leaves, in doing so, are less liable to be injured. 
The plants are now packed in small boxes or baskets 
with the roots pressed together, the same as with 
cabbage or sweet potatoes. These are covered with 
a damp cloth and set in a cool, shady place until 
ready to be set out. If the weather is warm and 
clear, planting late In the day is preferable, but 
if the weather is dark and cloudy, anytime will do. 
Transplanting machines are now replacing hand 
planting. 

Cultivation. — In ten days to two weeks after the 
plants have been set out, it is advisable to start cul- 
tivation. The real secret of growing good tobacco 
is in keeping the land free from weeds and the soil 
in the best of tilth. Cultivation, therefore, should 
be thorough and continuous ; and shallow cultiva- 
tion is preferable to deep cultivation. Any injury 
to the plant roots will check the growth and thus 
affect the leaf. Rapid growth gives a finer leaf 
than the slow growth. This is one reason why the 
soil needs to be fertile. When the plant begins to 
bud, horse cultivation should cease. 

All plants excepting those that are to be kept for 
seed are topped. During the season, the suckers 
are usually removed two or three times. If the 
suckers be permitted to grow, an inferior tobacco 
would result. Tobacco raisers should make it a 



TOBACCO 245 

rule to select seed from plants having few suckers 
and those that have a tendency to resist all dis- 
eases. The flower clusters should be covered in 
a paper bag before blossoming so as to prevent 
accidental cross fertilization. As the plant grows, 
these bags should be loosened or larger ones used 
so as to avoid any injury to the tops of plants as 
they grow bigger. After the flowers that are to be 
used for seed purposes are fertilized, the bags should 
be removed and the seed allowed to mature in 
the open. 

Culture Points Summarized. — The soil should be 
given a heavy coat of barnyard manure in the fall, 
plowed either in the fall or early spring, and har- 
rowed at intervals of about every two weeks. This 
will cause most of the weed seeds to germinate and 
give the farmer ample chance to kill them before 
he plants tobacco. The early plowing will, if har- 
rowed in this way, absorb all the spring rain and 
better enable the plant to withstand possible drouth 
of the summer months. After transplanting, the 
ground should never be allowed to bake. Cultivate 
after every shower, preferably with a drag-tooth 
cultivator. This will leave the ground fine and not 
lumpy like some of the old-fashioned cultivators. 
The plant should be in the highest degree of health 
from the time it is transplanted until harvested, 
and this can be accomplished by constantly tilling 
the soil until the plants are so large they will not 
permit a horse to walk between the rows, but care 
should be taken not to go too close to the plant 
when it has attained any size. Tobacco should be 
topped just as it is beginning to flower. It should 
never be allowed to bloom. Conditions of weather 
and climate determine the length of time a plant 



246 FARM CROPS 

should stand from time of topping until harvested. 
Generally this is about 18 to 20 days. In very 
warm growing weather 16 to 18 days will suffice. 
No rule can be used for this. Experience is prac- 
tically necessary to judge ripe tobacco. 

When to Harvest. — It is best, especially in dry 
seasons, to harvest the tobacco before it is too ripe. 
If the rain should come to freshen the plants, and 
start them growing let them stand until they are 
matured, otherwise harvest the tobacco before it 
starts to fire up in the field. Much has been said 
during the past few years concerning the harvest- 
ing of tobacco by the priming method. This is to 
pluck the leaves as they become nearly ripe, in- 
stead of waiting to cut the whole stalk. Some 
have made a success of it and others have not. The 
principal drawback to the method is the little 
knowledge we have of the proper stage of ripeness 
tobacco should acquire to be in its prime for har- 
vesting in order to make the best quality of goods 
possible. 

The main point is not to delay the harvesting 
until the tobacco is too ripe ; better by far have 
it a little on the green side of the line. As soon 
as the leaves are matured; that is, have their 
growth, they should be harvested. The longer a 
leaf stays on the stalk after it has its growth, up to 
the time it starts to fire, the more solid matter it 
contains. If the leaf so loaded with solid material 
is cured on the stalk, a part of the solid material in 
the leaf is made soluble during the curing process 
and transposed into the stalk, thus benefiting the 
leaf; if the leaf is primed in the field this source of 
outlet for the solid material is cut off and the leaf 
cures down thick and boardy, instead of thin and 



TURNIPS 



247 



elastic, as it does when harvested as soon as it has 
obtained its growth. 

TURNIPS. — The turnip is of many varieties. 
They are sometimes called fall turnips, because 
they are more commonly fed in the autumn, whereas 
the Swedish varieties are more commonly fed at a 
later period. They are characterized by differences 
in the size, shape and color of 
the bulb, and by the habit of 
growth in the top. Com- 
pared with rutabagas they 
are flatter in shape, they 
grow more quickly and more 
above the ground and are 
less firm in flesh, hence they 
cannot be kept so long when 
harvested. They are more 
frequently grown to provide 
forage than rutabagas, be- 
cause of their quick-growing 
properties, and because it 
would not be so remunera- The tumip is the fa- 

j • ^ 1 . .1 . vorite root of sheep. Its 

tive to harvest a crop that use as a field crop is 

keeps but for a short time. ^^Sj. ^"''^'''^ "' '^'^ 
Sometimes they are raised 

for forage by sowing the seed in drills and cul- 
tivating the plants, but more frequently they are 
sown for this purpose in the grain fields. They 
furnish forage for all farm animals, but are best 
adapted to sheep and swine. To provide forage 
they are commonly sown with a winter grain crop, 
as wheat or rye ; or with a spring grain crop, as 
wheat, oats or barley. But they should not ordina- 
rily be sown with a grain crop that has also been 
sown with grass seeds, for the pasturing in the 




TURNIP 



248 FARM CROPS 

autumn would very probably prove hurtful to the 
young grass. With a winter crop they should be 
sown early, so that it will not too much shade the 
plants while they are young and tender. With a 
spring crop they should usually be sown at the 
same time as the grain, but may be sown later. 

From I to 2 pounds of seed will usually prove 
sufficient to sow to an acre. On winter grain crops 
the seed will have to be broadcasted. It should 
then be covered with a harrow. The harrowing will 
also be helpful to the grain when it is judiciously 
done. On spring grain it may be sown with the 
grass-seeder attachment of the grain drill when it 
has one, and except on stifif soils the seed should fall 
before the drill tubes. When the seed is thus 
dropped before the drill tubes it will be sufficiently 
covered. When it is sown just after the grain it 
will, in nearly all instances, be necessary to cover 
it with the harrow, except on lumpy or cloddy soils. 
On these the roller ought to be used rather than the 
harrow. 

Of the various kinds of spring grain, barley 
makes the best nurse crop for turnips, be :ause of 
the less dense growth which it produces, and be- 
cause of its early removal. Oats is the most un- 
suitable as a nurse crop for reasons just the op- 
posite. 

The value of the turnip crop for forage will de- 
pend much on the character of the season and soil. 
In any case, the turnips are not likely to grow so 
as to hinder growth in the grain crop. But under 
favorable conditions they will come on after the 
crop is harvested and will produce an excellent 
growth of top and root. In very dry seasons they 
may not give any return, but in turnip-growing 



VELVET BEAN 



249 



sections it is seldom, indeed, that the crop will not 
be found worth more than the seed and the cost 
of sowing it. 

The sheep or other live stock that are to be pas- 
tured on the turnips may be allowed freedom of 
access to other grass pasture ; 
the outcome will be still fur- 
ther satisfactory for the dan- 
ger of an unduly lax condition 
of the bowels is less likely to 
occur. The pasturing should 
be completed before the 
weather becomes really cold, 
for turnips freeze much more 
easily than rutabagas, and 
when hard frozen they should 
not be eaten by the stock. 

VELVET BEAN.— A twin- 
ing plant important as a cover 
crop and for its value as a 
green manure. It gets its 
name from the velvety condi- 
tion of the pods and looks 
much like pole lima beans. It 
requires a long growing season, 
considerable moisture and 
much warm weather. For 
these reasons it is best adapted 

to the Southern states, and there it reaches its maxi- 
mum growth. It is not very particular about the 
soil allotted it, but does its best on fairly well- 
drained soils that are fairly fertile, but it is all right 
for bringing up old lands. Being a legume in most 
cases it can supply its own nitrogen, but in poor 
soils potassium and phosphorus should be supplied. 




VELVET BEAN 

This legume grows 
from 10 to 50 feet in 
length. Its flowers are 
in clusters at the 
joints of the stem. The 
beans are borne in 
short cylindrical parts 
containing three to six 
large rounded brown 
and muddled seed. The 
buds are covered with 
a velvety down which 
gives the name to the 
plant. 



250 FARM CROPS 

It is planted in rows about 4 feet apart with the 
plants 2 or 3 feet apart in rows. About 4 quarts of 
seed to the acre is the customary seeding. As its 
best work is to build up the soil it makes an excel- 
lent crop to precede corn or cotton. Sometimes 
corn and velvet beans are planted together. A few 
cultivations should be given the crop after planting 
to keep the weeds down and to conserve the mois- 
ture. The vines grow rapidly, and soon shade the 
ground and smother out weeds, but the cultivation 
makes the soil more agreeable to the crop. 

In harvesting the mowing machine is best. The 
tangled condition of the crop and its immensity 
make it difficult to cure. It is cured very much 
like cowpea hay or clover hay, only it is many 
times more troublesome. These curing difficulties 
lead most people to graze the crop with cattle and 
hogs and to plow the wasted part under for the soil 
improvement efifect. If cured as hay, from 3 to 4 
tons are ordinarily secured from each acre. An 
average yield of seed is about 35 bushels. As a 
stock food the velvet bean stands high. The pro- 
tein content is large. When fed carbonaceous feeds 
like corn, cassava and bulky foods should be pro- 
vided also. Its best use is as a cover crop and as 
a soil renovator. In regions where it can be grown 
it has few equals and no superiors. 

VELVET GRASS.— Often called a weed, this 
plant is used for pasture and hay along the Pacific 
coast. It flowers early in the spring and attains 
a height of from 20 to 30 inches. As a forage it is 
not very appetizing, but is nutritious. It is a ready 
grower, preferring soils possessed of considerable 
organic matter. In seeding about 20 pounds are 
required to the acre and the soil should be prepared 



VELVET GRASS 



251 



as for other small grass seeds. Velvet grass is not 
a popular plant and will never replace any of the 
well-known grasses now commonly used for mead- 
ows and pastures. 




VELVET GRASS 



VETCHES. — These plants sometimes called 
tares are relished by live stock of all kinds. They 
are excellent for milk production and their fatten- 
ing properties are of a high order. They have 
special adaptation for being grown along with other 
grains to provide soiling food and they may be made 
to render excellent service in providing pasture for 
sheep and swine. When grown for hay vetches 
should be sown with some cereal grain to sustain 
them. Not only are they good food, but they be- 
long to the legume family and are good land reno- 
vators. For this reason they are excellent to follow 



252 



FARM CROPS 



cereal crops. They grow splendidly on overturned 
sod land. Winter vetch may be made to follow a 
crop that has been harvested in the summer or fall. 
After the vetch crop has been harvested the follow- 
ing spring the summer crop should succeed it. 

Vetches flourish best 
in moist clay loam soils 
of free working texture. 
They will grow most 
satisfactorily in rich 
soils and will do as well 
in poor soils as an ordi- 
nary crop. The spring 
vetch should be sown for 
forage as early as the 
ground is dry enough to 
be worked without in- 
jury. The winter vetch 
ought to be sown long 
before winter to enable 
it to become firmly es- 
tablished that it may 
the better withstand the 
rigors of winter. There 
should be considerable 
moisture in the soil to 
sprout the seed, otherwise it will lay unsprouted in 
the ground. The seed may be broadcasted, but is 
better sown with a grain drill either when sown 
alone or along with otlier seeds. It should be buried 
about as deeply as cereals. The hay of the common 
vetch is about as nutritious as clover and is relished 
even more. On account of the high value of the 
seed it is neA^er fed to live stock, although it is ex- 
cellent food. 




HAIRY VETCH 

Known also as sand vetch. 
It is a legume and a great soil 
improver. It does well with 
wheat, rye or oats which fur- 
nish support for tlie vines and 
keep the forage oft the ground. 
It may be used for green for- 
age, for hay, for pasture, or it 
may be turned under for green 
manure. 



WHEAT 253 

WHEAT.— This crop ranks third in the United 
States. It grows in cool, temperate and warm 
climates and in many kinds of soil. It does best 
in clay loam and poorest in sandy soil. The hard 
water-soaked lands will not grow wheat with profit 
to the farmer. For this reason, where good wheat 
production is desired, the soil must be well drained 
and in good physical condition — that is the soil 
must be open, crumbly and mellow. 

Clay soils that are hard and lifeless can be made 
valuable for wheat production by covering the sur- 
face with manure, by good tilling and by a thorough 
system of crop rotation. Cowpeas make a most 
valuable crop to precede wheat, for in growing the 
atmospheric nitrogen is added to the soil, their 
roots loosen the root bed, thereby admitting a free 
circulation of air and add humus to the soil. More- 
over, the cowpea leaves the soil in a compact con- 
dition so much desired in wheat production. One 
may secure a good seed bed after cotton, potatoes 
and corn as well as after peas. These are summer 
cultivated crops and the clean culture that has 
been given renders the top soil mellow and the 
under soil firm and compact. They are not so 
good, however, as cowpeas, since they add no at- 
mospheric nitrogen to the soil, as all the legumes do. 

How Deep to Sow. — Several things enter into 
the depth of sowing. The soil has something to 
do with it as well as the moisture ; and then the 
levelness and the firmness of the seed bed must be 
considered also. A sandy soil will give better re- 
sults from deep seeding than a clay soil. Then, 
too, the dry soil will stand deeper sowing than the 
wet soil. If the season is dry, a greater depth 
should be given the seed than if it is a season of 




254 



WHEAT 255 

continuous rainfall more or less. The depth varies 
all the way from i to 3 inches, but a practice 
usually followed by the farmers is to sow about 
I inch in depth, giving the seed this amount of 
moist soil for covering. Often the wheat field is 
cloddy and rough, and in cases of this kind a greater 
depth is desirable, not only to secure better ger- 
mination, but also to give better covering. 

When corn and potatoes are followed by wheat, 
a good depth is usually secured providing the disk- 
harrow has been run over once or twice previous 
to seeding. The potato bed ought always to pro- 
vide an ideal seed bed. Often in corn land the 
weeds and hard surfaces make the bed unfit to 
start with, and too much seeding is done on this 
kind of land. Before seeding in cases of this nature 
a disking or double disking and even a cross disk- 
ing is advisable. So given the grower is reason- 
ably certain that the seed will be put deep enough 
in the soil to secure proper germination and to get 
the plant going rightly that it may pass through 
the winter without danger or injury. In case the 
soil is mellow, and loose, and the season more or 
less dry, a good rolling often will help out very 
much to start germination. If the rolling is done 
after seeding just as soon as the moisture begins to 
leave the soil run the peg-tooth harrow over the 
ground. This will make a mulch, the moisture in 
the soil will be held and the crop will push vigor- 
ously forward. 

Fertilizing Wheat Lands. — Practically every 
form of fertilizer is applied to wheat lands. Some 
like raw bone meal, tankage and basic slag as car- 
riers of phosphoric acid, because they feel these 



256 



FAKAT (KOrS 



materials ate Ix'sl for llic grass (r()])S that follow. 
Nitrate of soda as a source of nitrogen is excellent, 
but the best lime for adding it is in the spring when 
vigorous growth will be secured in case the crop 
has gone through the winter ])oorly. When 
nitrate of soda is used in the fall, it is usually mixed 




WHEAT riKADER 

In aomo wheat dlslrlcts lli(» luuids only are cllppod off. 
TlioHn lu^ads ar(! carried hy iiicariH of an (dc^valor atlac.liod to 
the macliliie to (he header- ]»(>xeM oi- waKoi'S tliat tiavid alon^; 
Willi tJH^ iiiacliiiie. Wlieii one waKoii l)ox is lllled aiiotiior ro- 
idaecM il. 'I'lie delaclied iieads are liaiijed (o IIk^ stoia^** place 
and .stacliecl iiiitll llii'e.MlilriK tlinc. JJy iisiiiK tlie header only a 
.Minail part of tln! straw iictuls to ho handled. 

with other fertilizing materials. Muriate of potash 
is perhai)S the cheapest source of potassium. 

Whether to use factory mixed goods or complete 
fertilizers will depend ui)on circumstances. Some 
farmers have already tested their lands and know 
whether a comj^lete fertilizer is needed or not. If 
wheat follows cowpcas or clover or any of the 
legumes, then it is certainly umieccssary to go to 
the expense of buying costly nitrt^gen when there 
is in all likelihood an abimdance in the soil already. 
Then, too, some wheat soils are deficient in ])hos- 
phorus, but possess an abtmdance of potassium. 
There is no need in this case of adding the potas- 
sium, if other lands are deficient in potassium but 



WHEAT 257 

relatively stroiii^ in pliosi^liorus ihe latter can De 
omitted from the fertilizer mixture. The wheat 
grower must make a study of the soil and ascer- 
tain what elements are lacking- in the soil and what 
carriers of the lacking ones arc the hest for snj)- 
plying the deficiency. 

Just how nuich fertilizer shall be used to the 
acre will depend also npon circumstances. In gen- 
eral, on average lands, from 15 to 20 pounds each 
of ammonia and ])otassium and from 25 to 50 
pounds of phos])horus are desired. These amounts 
can be obtained by adding from 200 to 400 poimds 
of a commercial fertilizer containing about 4 per 
cent ammonia, 12 per cent of available ])hosphorus 
and 4 per cent of potassium. Many grades are on 
the market having analyses very similar to this 
and ordinarily can be obtained. Ft is advisable to 
add a reasonable (juantity to the acre, l^ertilizers 
pay best on lands well prepared. This shoidd be more 
generally recognized than it is. Two methods of 
applying fertilizers are in vogue: To broadcast 
just before the seed drill ; and in connection with 
seeding, the fertilizer attachment being attached 
to the seed drill. The latter method is most com- 
mon because the expense is less. 

Liming wheat land is good practice done judi- 
ciously. It helps the land, but if vegetable matter 
is not added from time to time soil humus will dis- 
appear and the land will suffer. All the way from 
500 to 2,000 ])ounds may be added to the acre. The 
lime can be added by means of a lime distributer, 
or it can be thrown out in ])iles in the field and after 
slaking be scattered over the field with shovel, 
giving" as even distribution as i)ossible. It is ad- 
visable to apply the lime some days previous to 



258 FARM CROPS 

seeding and to harrow the lime in and not to allow 
it to remain on top of the soil for any length of 
time. Many lime users make a mistake in scattering 
the lime broadcast, allowing it to be carried down 
into the soil by rains. To get the full effect, har- 
row the lime into the soil. 

Wheat should be grown in a rotation with other 
crops, and two of the best in such rotations are 
corn and clover. For instance, let corn follow 
clover; on the clover sod scatter the manure to be 
plowed under the corn ; and following the corn 
should come the wheat. Some use oats after corn 
and wheat after oats. In this case, as soon after 
oat harvesting as possible, plow the land that a 
good seed bed may be had for the wheat later on. 
If the stable manure is added to the corn lands, 
then fertilizers will be more largely resorted to on 
the wheat lands. This plan is splendid and is used 
by many of the best wheat growers in sections 
where diversified farming has become established. 

The Varieties Are Many. — Four types of 
wheat are recognized in the markets of the 
country. These types are the following: Soft 
winter wheat; hard winter wheat; hard spring 
wheat and white wheat. Included in the 
stock winter varieties are the Valley, Nigger, 
Mediterranean, Rudy, Fulcaster, Early Genessee 
Giant, Mealy, Early Ripe, Poole, Fultz, Harvest 
King and Dawson's Golden Chaff. The Fultz 
variety is; probably more widely grown in the 
United States than any other. Among the hard win- 
ter varieties are Zimmerman,Turkey andTasmanian 
Red. Fife and Blue Stem are the two leading 
types of hard spring wheat. Both are beardless 
and are grown in that immense wheat belt extend- 



WHEAT 259 

ing- from Kansas north to Minnesota and the 
Dakotas. The varieties most popular on the Pacific 
coast are Australian, Oregon Red Chaff, Blue Stem, 
White Winter and Little Club. 

In selecting a variety, it is well to try out those 
that do best near home and to study how they have 
done at the experiment station. By so acting you 
can choose a variety that will best serve you as a 
standby. If satisfied with your choice, improve it 
by selecting the seed wheat each year, using the 
seed plot to the full limit that the choicest heads 
and choicest grains may be saved to further im- 
prove the wheat stock. 

Preparing the Land. — One of the real secrets of 
successful winter wheat culture is in this early 
preparation of the soil. Farmers have learned that 
ground for wheat should be plowed as soon as the 
previous crop has been removed and allowed to be- 
come compact before seeding time. It will not do, of 
course, to plow the ground and give it no further at- 
tention. It must be harrowed or disked often enough 
to keep down weeds and to keep the upper layers 
pulverized, forming a dust mulch which prevents 
the escape of valuable soil moisture. Where the 
ground is full of weed seed, this is a most excellent 
method of getting rid of these pests. The weed 
crop is prevented from seeding and the seed in the 
ground from last year germinates and the young 
plants are killed. Even such persistent perennials 
as cockle-burr, velvet leaf and jimson weed can 
finally be controlled. It may require two or three 
years of such treatment to get rid of the worst 
pests, but persistence will always result in success. 

The ground for wheat should be carefully plowed ; 
in most sections 5 to 7 inches deep. Every bit of 



260 FARM CROPS 

the ground must be stirred so that when drilling is 
done the seed will be covered evenly. The sulky 
plows or the modern gangs are best, as they do good 
work and completely cover all trash which may be 
on the surface. If plowing must be delayed until 
late on account of dry weather, or the fact that the 
crops growing on the land cannot be removed until 
just before seeding time, compacting must be done 
in some way. This is best accomplished by the use 
of a roller, drag, disk, smoothing harrow or some 
such implement. Neglect of this brings more poor 
wheat than any other one thing. Going over the 
ground two or three times is not sufficient. The 
work must be continued and, in some cases, the 
ground will have to be gone over four or five times. 
Ideal Seed Bed for ^Vheat. — An ideal seed bed 
for wheat or other small seeds should not be mellow 
or loose to too great a depth, but rather the soil 
should be mellow and well pulverized only about 
as deep as the seed is planted. Below that depth 
the soil should be firm and well settled, making a 
good connection with the subsoil, so that the soil 
water stored in the subsoil may be drawn up into 
the surface soil. The firm soil below the seed, well 
connected with the subsoil, supplies moisture to 
the germinating seed and the young plantlet, while 
the mellow soil above the seed allows sufficient 
circulation of air to supply oxygen and favors the 
warming of the soil, gathering the heat of the sun- 
shine during the day and acting as a blanket to 
conserve the soil heat, maintaining a more uniform 
temperature of the soil during the night. The 
mellow soil mulch above the seed conserves the 
soil moisture, acting as a mulch to keep the moisture 
from reaching the surface, where it would be 



WHEAT 261 

rapidly lost by evaporation. The same condition 
favors the growth of the young shoots upward into 
the air and sunshine. 

The too loose, deep seed bed is almost wholly 
dependent upon sufficient rains to germinate the 
seed and start the young plants. In such a seed 
bed drouth is very apt to injure the plants, because 
of the rapid drying out of the soil to the depth of 
the plowing. In the loose seed bed the wheat is 
not only apt to burn out in summer, but it is also 
more apt to freeze out in winter, than wheat grown 
in the ideal seed bed as here described. 

How Much Seed to Sow. — The amount of seed to 
the acre varies a little with the soil and the climate. 
As a rule, five pecks of well-cleaned seed will give 
a good stand and produce the maximum yield. If 
the seed is very expensive, one bushel will fre- 
quently answer. It is better, however, to be on the 
safe side and sow a little more than recommended 
rather than less. There are so many varieties that no 
one variety can be recommended for all sections of 
the wheat belt. The best guide is to get from the 
experiment station the kinds that have done best in 
the station tests. Then after consulting with the 
best wheat growers in your neighborhood, decide 
upon the kind. A good variety is always desirable, 
but do not forget that even the best seed will not 
do well on a poor seed bed. 

Putting in the Seed. — Drilling is, of course, the 
only method to be recommended. The kind of a 
drill is another question. The modern disk drills 
have been so satisfactory that they can be recom- 
mended without hesitancy. The old-fashioned hoe 
drill is still used very widely and is a good imple- 
ment. The press drill during a dry season is ex- 



262 FARM CROPS 

ceedingly satisfactory, but its heavy draft and the 
fact that it is not available in many neighborhoods, 
tend to keep it back. A number of the manufac- 
turers of drills now make a combination implement, 
by means of which the press wheels may be used 
or not, depending upon the condition of the soil. 
This is a little more expensive than the average 
drill, but since you have two implements in one, it 
can be purchased with profit. 

Saving Grain at Harvest. — It is a matter of small 
consequence if grain in the corners of the field is 
wasted or if the binder course at the edge of the 
field is destroyed, so we think — the hogs will get it. 
In many cases this is true. But it is expensive 
feeding, too expensive at the present price of grain. 
And the loss of grain in the shock and stack, due to 
mice, rats and bad weather, is much greater than 
the loss due to loss in the field. But is this loss all 
necessary? Is it good business to go to the ex- 
pense of raising wheat or rye or oats, and then 
after the crop has matured to lose anywhere from 
5 to 15 per cent of the crop by bad management at 
harvest? In many instances not only has the en- 
tire crop in the shock or stack been damaged, but a 
large amount, often as much as 25 per cent of the 
crop, has actually been destroyed. Every once in 
a while seasons are bad for the crops. They catch 
grain growers by surprise and to their loss. True 
as this may be, it is a fact, nevertheless, that many 
farmers, big and little, do circumvent the loss and 
damage. They do it by wise planning, by careful 
management and by meeting emergencies as they 
occur. 

Making Shocks to Withstand Rain. — There is 
little to be said about stacking and shocking grain 



WHEAT 263 

in the field. In some seasons it makes little dif- 
ference what sort of shock is set up, or whether set 
up at all. If a rainy period prevails a difference 
results, and a big difference. The plan of setting 
the bundles two by two, without caps, is a bad 
custom during rainy seasons. The heads being 
wholly exposed, a great number of kernels sprout. 
even grow if the showers are frequent and the 
weather hot. Wheat shocked in this manner is 
often practically ruined. Hasty shocking may pass 
as a rule, but there always comes a time when the 
loss is a severe penalty. 

It is a good rule to set the shocks carefully with 
some permanency and then the risk of loss in the 
field will be much less. When the grain is fairly 
ripe, two sets of two bundles may be set with the 
tops leaning toward the center. About these are 
set other bundles ; one on each end and two on 
each side, with two well-broken and flattened 
bundles on top for caps. So set, the shocks 
stand well, are firm and plenty of ventilation 
is possible for the grain and straw to dry out 
readily. Thus set, with caps well made and well 
placed, long periods of wet weather will be with- 
stood without any injury to the grain. 

Good Stack for Wheat. — The custom of thresh- 
ing from the shock has been spreading for years. 
It has its advantages and disadvantages, all of 
which each grain grower knows and understands. 
The general art of stacking, because the custom 
of stacking is now not so universal, has become lost 
in some sections, and only the most indifferent 
makeshift sorts of stacking result as a consequence. 
Many stacks leak if heavy rains continue. The 
water goes down into the stack from the top, or is 



264 FARM CROPS 

beaten in from the sides, causing the grain to 
sprout, in many cases to rot, and in all cases to be 
severely damaged. Now this is bad and the evil 
should be corrected. 

The method in stacking wheat or oats or other 
small grain is to make a stack that will not take 
water. The shape or the size is not of much con- 
sequence. The real art is to lay the bundles so 
skillfully that the rains will be kept out. Two gen- 
eral ideas prevail in laying the bundles : One is 
to start at the center and work from the center to 
the outer edge ; the other is to work from the outer 
edge to the center. It does not make much dif- 
ference which is followed, providing the center is 
kept high enough, that the drain, if there be any, 
may be down and out. 

A good, old-tried method is to bring the stack up 
to some 4 or 5 feet in the center ; lay down two or 
three bundles, so as to get a good pitch before 
working the outer edge. The idea from now on is 
to keep the center high and the outer edge low. 
The outward bundles can be given a little less pitch 
than those further in. Do not try to have the bun- 
dles so close together on the outer edge of the 
stack; give them plenty of room, so that when a 
stack settles the outer edge will settle and the cen- 
ter remain solid. In case the outer edge starts to 
slip, it can be quickly tied by working at the center 
and then from it toward the edge. By so doing the 
slip will be checked at once. 

Another method of stacking is to stand the bun- 
dles up on their butts in the center of the stack. 
Press the bundles inward until the bottom is as 
large as needed, when the bundles should be laid 
down with the butts outward. Now a course on 



WHEAT 265 

the outer side is laid, and when completed another 
course is started in the opposite direction with the 
butts laying up to the bands Course after course 
now follows until the middle is reached The 
inner course should be packed very closely, so as to 
keep the middle fuller than the outside. A good 
stacker, who is accustomed to the work, will lay 
out a little until the stack is as large as needed. 
The size can be maintained until it is time to draw 
in so as to top out. It is especially necessary when 
this drawing-in work has started to have the center 
full, which must be maintained all the time. Keep 
the center higher than the outside. When the draw- 
in is started, let it be done slowly at first. 

Small grains stacked in this manner will save the 
grain about as well as if stored in the barn. As a 
last thing, I like to cover the stack with old hay and 
then to weigh this down with hangers made of ropes 
or wires. When so protected it is just about im- 
possible for rains to do any damage. 

Threshing from Shock or Stack. — The strongest 
argument against threshing from the shock is the 
fact that it takes the whole farming force of the 
community with a great many teams to get the 
grain to the machines. If the farmer pays for most 
of this large force of helpers by working back, when 
his neighbors get ready to thresh it will take him 
a great many days to cancel his debt. No matter 
how pressing a certain piece of work may be he is 
obliged to break right off and assist his neighbor 
when the machine gets there. Threshing machines 
are like time itself — they wait for no man. A 
farmer is forced to thresh In his turn when the 
machine reaches his neighborhood, or he may have 
to wait a long while before it comes back to his 



266 FARM CROPS 

place. If grain is well stacked a farmer can be 
more independent and choose his time for thresh- 
ing-. But if not well stacked it is desirable to 
thresh as soon as possible, for if heavy rains set in 
much of the grain will be greatly damaged. 

One successful way to thresh from the shock is 
for ten or a dozen farmers in one neighborhood to 
organize a club, get a machine and go to work im- 
mediately, threshing first for one man, then an- 
other until each man in his turn has been served. 
In this way help is paid back at once and the work 
is over. 

Controlling the Hessian Fly. — This pest causes 
annually considerable loss in the wheat fields. Vari- 
ous remedies for its suppression have been sug- 
gested, but none of them is wholly satisfactory. To 
be effective, burning the stubble after the crop has 
been harvested must be done before the flies emerge 
from the pupal state. In case this plan is to be 
adopted, the wheat should be cut quite high, so 
that all the pupae will remain in the stubble. The 
objection to this of course, is that some of the in- 
sects have been permitted to mature. Burning the 
screenings and chaff after threshing may lessen the 
number to some extent. Another plan is to turn 
under the stubble after the grain has been re- 
moved, plowing to a depth of several inches and 
rolling the ground. The pupae in most cases will be 
destroyed. 

The food supply for the insects during late sum- 
mer and early autumn should be destroyed. The 
flies emerge during this period, and if the volunteer 
grain about the stack and in the field is not present 
eggs cannot be deposited. Destroy the volunteer 
grain by plowing or pasturing. Some farmers 



WHEAT 267 

early sow strips of wheat through the field. The 
insects as soon as they emerge deposit the eggs 
in these grain patches. As soon as the pup^e have 
formed the growing plants can be turned under and 
the flies killed. These strips should be sown very 
early. Possibly the best way of all is late sow- 
ing. Delay the seeding until the adult fly has 
emerged and perished. Of course the flies occa- 
sionally breed very late in the season, but if the 
farmers will watch their fields they will very often 
find that the entire brood has perished before it is 
too late to sow wheat. A combination of methods 
is probably the best. If the weather is dry, burn 
the stubble as soon as the grain is ofif. If it is wet 
plow it under, following with a roller, and as soon 
as any volunteer wheat appears turn it under. The 
chaff from the threshing machine should be burned. 
If strips of winter wheat are used as decoys, they 
must be plowed under at the end of three or four 
weeks. With these precautions and the planting 
of the crop at the latest practicable date, the ravages 
of the Hessian fly can be greatly lessened. 

How Flour Is Made. — The wheat is first cleaned, 
tempered, tested and, if approved by the tester, it 
is ground by the gradual reduction method, which 
is a process of granulation rather than pulveriza- 
tion, as is the case of the upper and nether mill- 
stone. In this process it goes through six dif- 
ferent sets of machines called breaks. This is the 
roller-mill process. The first break slightly crushes 
the wheat kernel when it goes to the scalper or 
sieve. Here the middlings, or grits, are separated. 
The residue is sent to another break, where it is 
crushed still more, carried to the scalper again, and 
more middlings sifted out. The wheat goes through 



268 FARM CROPS 

six different sets of breaks ana a scalper each time, 
the rolls in each break being closer and closer to- 
gether, and the middlings obtained in each instance 
being finer and finer. 

This gives six different grades in size of particles. 
The finest and purest are selected for the best grade 
of flour, run through purifiers, where impurities are 
removed by suction and sifting. Dirt and dust are 
caught in a dust collector made of flannel tubes, 
when the residue is ground into flour, which is 
sometimes spoken of as bolting. Something like 
150 separations are made from the time the wheat 
is turned into the hopper until it comes out in the 
sack labeled with the trade-mark of the particular 
mill grinding it. 

WHITE CLOVER.— This little perennial is 
native to the northeastern United States and to 
Europe, but has been so long cultivated over the 
southern half of the United States that it is now 
thoroughly established. It is best adapted to 
rather moist soil, but will grow well on a large 
variety of soils, and under widely different climatic 
conditions. The seed should be sown in, early 
spring. During the spring and early summer 
months, this clover makes its best growth. During 
the hottest part of the summer it remains prac- 
tically stationary. It is able, however, to resist 
considerable drouth, although in the southern 
states it often disappears entirely during a period 
of protracted hot weather, only to reappear again 
abundantly when the conditions become favorable. 

It is commonly used in this country for pasture 
and for lawns ; always in combination with some 
other crop. It is ordinarily sown with blue grass, 
red top and some of the other smaller plants; more 



YELLOW CLOVER 269 

SO than the other clovers, and its yield is always 
very much less. For lawn and pasture purposes 
it is of great value because of its perennial character 
and its creeping habit, which enables it to closely 
cover the soil and occupy all the spaces left vacant 
by other plants. It furnishes tender, nutritious pas- 
turage and in lawns gives a close, dark-green, vel- 
vety growth. It flowers and fruits abundantly 
wherever it grows. 

YELLOW CLOVER.— This plant is sometimes 
called black medic. At other times it is spoken of 
as trefoil, but this term is not sufficiently specific. 
Nor is it to be confounded with hop clover, although 
there is much of resemblance between the two 
plants. Yellow clover is perennial and recumbent 
in its habit of growth. It does not make sufficient 
growth to render it of much value for hay. But as 
a pasture plant it is, to some extent at least, deserv- 
ing of a place in our agriculture. It bears seeds 
profusely, and as the season of bloom is prolonged 
when it is pastured, this plant has much power to 
reseed itself and therefore to maintain its hold upon 
land where it has been grown. 

Yellow clover has special adaptation for soils well 
supplied with lime. On such soils it has in some 
localities almost assumed the character of a weed. 
But this can only happen in rainy climates. It will 
also grow in gravelly soils, where some of the other 
varieties of clover would fail. It grows freely in 
several of the Northern states. It is probable that 
it may be grown with more or less success in all, 
or nearly all, the tillable portions of the United 
States. Where other and superior kinds of clover 
will grow freely, it is not necessary to give much 
attention to yellow clover. But in permanent pas- 



270 FARM CROPS 

tnres, even among superior sorts, it has a place, since 
it comes on early in the season and grows vigor- 
ously, and il is line and leafy when young; but as 
sunnner advances it becomes woody and ceases to 
grow. As a pasture plant it is not the ecjual of white 
clover, but it may be able to grow in some situations 
where white clover will not succeed. 

The seed of yellow clover is relatively cheap, 
hence to add i or 2 pounds of the seed to the 
acre to a mixture to be sown for permanent 
l)asture will not add much to the whole cost 
of the seed. When sown alone, from 3 to 5 pounds 
of seed is ample. But it should c«nly be 
thus sown to j)rovide seed. The seed may be sown 
by hand or with some form of hand seeder, and 
covered with a light harrow or a roller, according 
to the character of the soil. When not sown to 
provide seed it ought to be made a part of a grass 
mixture rather than the sole cro]). In such instances 
I or 2 i)ounds of seed to the acre should sufifice. 



Index 



Page 

Alfalfa 95 

Alsike clover 102 

Artichokes 103 

Bad Drainage 7 

Barley 105 

Beans 107 

Beggar Weed 44, 107 

Bermuda Grass 108 

Blue Grass 109 

Breeding Up Farm Crops 89 

Broom Corn 109 

Broom Corn Millet 113 

Buckwheat 113 

Bur Clover 115 

Canada Field Peas 116 

Carrots 69, 116 

Cassava 118 

Cattle Feeds 44 

Chufa 119 

Clover, Alsike 102 

Club Wheat 120 

Common Millet 120 

Common Red Clover 120 

Com 121 

Corn, Basis for Soiling, 80 

Corn, Best Silage crop. 70 

Com Cultivator 125 

Corn, Field Selection of Seed. ... 127 

Corn for Summer 67 

Com, Hogging off 133 

Corn Husking from Standing 

Stalks 133 

Corn Improved by Selection 91 

Corn Kernels 4 7 

Corn, Putting in Shocks 131 

Corn Shocking by Machmery. ... 132 

Corn Smut 87 

Cotton 136 

Cotton, Helping Cotton Lands. . . 139 

Cotton, Improving Cotton 85 

Cottonseed Meal 51 

Crimson Clover 120 

Crop Growing 1 

Crops and Food Nutrients 57 

Crops and Line of Business 55 

Crops for Feeding 43 

Crops for Succulence 63 

Crops, Preparing for 25 

Cowpea Fertilizer 13 

Cowpea Hay 147 

Cowpea Rack 145 

Cowpeas 143 

Cowpea Shock 146 

Cultivate, When to 24 

Cultivation 38 



Page 

Cultivation, Gentle Art of 23 

Dairy Feeds, In Buving, Get 

Protein 49 

Durum Wheat 147 

Emmer 148 

Experiment Station at Home .... 11 

Fanning Mills 88 

Farm Crops 95 

Feeding Stuffs, Home Raised. ... 46 

Fertilizers, Function of 8 

Field Beans 149 

Field Peas 150 

Flax 151 

Forage Crops 54 

German Millet 152 

Good Silo, Essentials of 70 

Good Soils and Good Crops 4 

Grasses, Preparation of Lanil for 20 

Grasses, Seeding and Feeding. . . 21 

Grasses, The Growing of 19 

Grass Seed Sowing 22 

Hairy Vetch 152 

Harrow, When to Use 32 

Helping Nature 5 

Hemp 152 

Hogging off Corn 133 

Hops 155 

Hungarian Millet 156 

Inbreeding of Corn 94 

Indian Com 156 

Italian Rye Grass 156 

Japan Clover 156 

Japanese Millet 158 

Kafir Corn 158 

Kentucky Blue Grass 160 

Legumes, High Importance of 8, 9 

Legumes, The Work They Do. . . 59 

Lespedeza l62 

Level Culture 24 

Lupines 162 

Maize 162 

Mammoth Clover 162 

Mangels 70, l63 

Meadow Fescue l65 

Meadow Foxtail l66 

Melilotus Alba l66 

Millets 166 

Milo Maize l69 

Moisture and Seed Bed 29 

Muskmelons 1 70 

Nitrogen, Storing Without Cost . . 12 

Oat Grass 1 70 

Oats 170 

Orchard Grass 66, 178 

Pastures, Good Ones Popular. . . 64 

271 



272 



INDEX 



Page 

Peanuts 179 

Pearl Millet 182 

Perennial Rye Grass 182 

Plant Breeding 84 

Plant Breeding, Keynote of 85 

Plant Improvement, Laws of 9^ 

Plants, Varying Need of 17 

Plowing, Early Plowing 30 

Polish Wheat 182 

Potatoes 183 

Potato Yields Increasing 10 

Poulard Wheat 193 

Protein 46 

Protein, Home Production of . . . . 56 
Protein, Judgment in Purchase. . 48 

Pumpkins 193 

Rape 194 

Rape for Supplementing Pastures 65 

Red Clover 197 

Red Top 202 

Rescue Grass 203 

Rice 204 

Root Bed 7 

Root Crops 68 

Roots, Preserving in Pits 73 

Rotation and Stability 18 

Rotation for Soiling Crops 81 

Rotations, How to Help Out. ... 16 

Rutabagas 207 

Rye 209 

Rye Grass 213 

Sanfoin 213 

Scarlet Clover 214 

Seed Bed 27 

Seed Bed and Moisture 29 

Seed Bed Ideal for Small Seed ... 36 
Seed Beds, Good Ones not 

Disappointed 28 

Seed Corn Room 90 

Sheep's Fescue 214 

Shocking Com 124 



Page 

Silage, Crops for 78 

Silage, Feeding Silage 78 

Silo, Calculating Size 71 

Silo. Filling the 71 

Silos 75 

Silos, Capacity of 77 

Soiling, Advantages of 82 

Soiling Crops 75. 79 

Soiling, Objections to 83 

Soiling in Place of Pasture 81 

Soil Packing to Start Water 28 

Sorghum 214 

Sowing Grass Seed 22 

Soy Beans 219 

Spelt 221 

Spurry 222 

Succulent Crops 63 

Sugar Beet 224 

Sugar Cane 228 

Sunflower 230 

Sweet Clover 232 

Sweet Potato 233 

Tall Fescue 236 

Tall Oat Grass 237 

Teosinte 238 

Tillage and Fertilizers 6 

Timothy 239 

Tobacco 242 

Turnips 69, 247 

Velvet Bean 249 

Velvet Grass 250 

Vetches 251 

Water Saving 25 

Wheat 253 

Wheat following Com 33 

Wheat, Ideal Seed Bed for 260 

Wheat, Preparing for 259 

Wheat, Varieties of 258 

White Clover 268 

Yellow Clover 269 



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